Five minutes with Zinfra’s Louise Bishop

May 22, 2025

Louise Bishop

Energy Source & Distribution spends five minutes with Zinfra operations manager south Louise Bishop, who was recently celebrated as one of Spencer-Ogden’s Top 100 Brilliant Women in Renewable Energy.

Louise, please tell us a bit about yourself:

I have been in the energy sector for 25 years, coming from a sales and marketing background, I never expected I would make the move into project operations. I moved from Melbourne back to Tasmania, where I grew up, to take up a role in the project team, constructing the gas transmission pipeline that was being built between Victoria and Tasmania. From there I moved into operations, moved back to Melbourne and started my career in project management.

What influenced your decision to move from a career in marketing to project management in the renewables sector?

I enjoy working with a team of people, helping them develop and grow confidence in themselves and what they’re doing. There are several renewable energy opportunities that are connecting to the network in Victoria. Zinfra is an important partner in the construction and delivery of these programs. I’m passionate about looking at different ways that we can do that, ensuring we’re thinking about sustainability in all aspects of each project. It’s not just about that connection to the network, but that we’re developing and supporting not only our teams but working with people in local communities and in the regional areas that we’re in to support their sustainability.

You were recently named one of Spencer-Ogden’s Top 100 Brilliant Women in Renewable Energy. What does this accolade mean to you?

I was honoured to be nominated for the award by my peers, and I think it shines a light on the growing the support for getting more women into the industry. Energy is a male-dominated industry, but I think this award shows that anyone can do it. There are plenty of career opportunities for women and this highlights the support in the industry for more women to enter the energy workforce. For me, this validates my drive to look at how we mentor females within the industry and make sure a pathway is very clear and easy for them. I want to swing the dial and get to a point where we might see the percentage of women on a project team is higher than male.

Which are the most personally rewarding projects you’ve been involved with at Zinfra?

I have the pleasure of working across a changing energy network as we move to more renewable energy options. I am focused on the safety and efficiency of connecting wind farms, solar farms, and battery energy storage units into the network. Connecting these sustainable projects to the Victorian power grid is especially rewarding, as they will play a major role in our energy future. There are a lot of different technical elements and problem solving that comes with these types of connections and I will never get tired of seeing these important projects come to life.

If you had the power to change one thing about the renewable energy sector, what would it be?

I would like to see delivery partners, network owners, and developers work collaboratively through a holistic risk management approach. This would drive better environmental, cultural, sustainable, and innovative project outcomes.

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not working?

Until recently I have been involved in a not-for-profit charity, Dress for Success in Tasmania—initially as a founding member of the committee that set up the charity in Tasmania, and then as a Board Member. I am very passionate about empowering others, particularly other women to have the confidence and support to achieve economic independence. Dress for Success provides this empowerment by providing a support network, professional attire to help women achieve this in their working and personal life. I now plan to continue this association with volunteer work here in Victoria. I’m also a keen runner and cyclist and just finished a week’s hiking in the Tarkine Forest in Tasmania.