Women in Renewables: Tammy Chu

Entura managing director Tammy Chu with Faiz Shah from the Asian Institute of Technology at the official opening of the Entura clean energy and water institute
Entura managing director Tammy Chu with Faiz Shah from the Asian Institute of Technology at the official opening of the Entura clean energy and water institute

Tammy Chu is the managing director of Entura, a specialist power and water consulting firm part of Hydro Tasmania. She’s responsible for Entura’s business strategy, performance and services to clients, and is a member of Hydro Tasmania’s Leadership Group.

What are some of your key achievements to date?

I was the first female president of the Tasmanian Division of Engineers Australia, and have been an Engineers Australia National Congress representative. Last year I was appointed to the Board of the International Hydropower Association, something I am very proud of.

What are you hoping to achieve in 2016?

2016 will be a very important year for Entura. We are currently exploring a potential joint venture with two subsidiaries of PowerChina, a Fortune 500 company, to drive Entura’s future growth. This opportunity would accelerate Entura’s growth by expanding our capability and geographic coverage through the broader international presence of our potential partners. I believe this growth in capability and coverage will bring great benefit to our clients and our people.

What attracted you to the renewable energy industry?

Growing up in Tasmania, it was easy to become passionate about renewables as we are surrounded by natural resources and the state has been active in hydropower for over a century. As a civil engineer, I specialised in the design and construction of mini-hydro and hydropower systems, hydropower investigations, pre-feasibility and feasibility studies, environmental assessments and approvals, resource investigations and resource water management.
Over time, I have seen more and more women joining the sector and taking on leadership roles and I think this trend will continue.

What are some solutions to attract more women to the energy industry?

Attracting females to this industry needs to start at school education and promoting science, technology and maths subjects for school students, so that we create a larger pool of women in our industry. We also need organisational and industry-level commitments to addressing the gender imbalance, such as ensuring that female sponsors and male champions encourage women and address barriers with flexible working arrangements.

The Women in Renewables series is an initiative of the Clean Energy Council, which ran its inaugural Developing Women Directors scholarship program in 2016.

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