our team

Whirlwind has professional experience across all the key disciplines required to successfully develop a wind farm.

Dr Philip Surman, Non-Executive Director and Chairman
Philip is a leading authority on wind energy with over 40 years’ experience in the electricity supply industry and nearly 20 years specifically in association with renewable energy. He has had a varied career in conventional and renewable power generation, and is now a wind energy adviser to BERR (formerly the DTI).

Philip established The Energy Workshop Limited (TEW) in 1995. TEW is an independent renewable energy consultancy with offices in West Yorkshire and Sussex. It specialises in providing development support and producing environmental reports to wind farm developers of all sizes, with a particular emphasis on small wind energy projects.

Tom Surman, Development Director
Tom has a successful background developing and consenting wind energy projects, he previously worked for over four years as a Wind Developer for a large utility’s renewable business in Scotland. He was the Project Manager responsible for consenting three schemes totalling 25MW and part of the team responsible for a recently operational 92MW project.

Thomas Chappell, Development Director
Thomas joined us in January 2009, having spent 5 years working at npower renewables in a number of project-related roles.

As a developer, Thomas was responsible for project-managing 5 onshore wind farms with a total capacity of over 100MW. Across this portfolio, he was responsible for all aspects of pre-construction development including site identification, feasibility study, negotiating and securing land agreements, managing multi-disciplinary teams of consultants to carry out Environmental Impact Assessment, managing stakeholders and guiding projects through the planning process and securing grid connection. He consented Novar II wind farm (32MW). Thomas then moved into a post-consent delivery role, which expanded his expertise to include a knowledge of grid connection issues, financial modelling of project economics, turbine procurement negotiation and other tasks necessary for the delivery of an operational wind farm.

Thomas has a broad and a proven expertise in almost every aspect of the pre-construction phase of wind farm projects.

Jake Surman, Technical Director
Jake has a strong background in wind energy, being involved in projects from site identification, through to determination. 

His technical experience includes: site layout and design, landscape and visual impact assessments, noise assessments and EMI consultations; all of which form part of the planning application.

James Perkins, Legal Director and Company Secretary
James provides all aspects of legal support for Whirlwind, including drafting and negotiating option lease agreements with landowner(s).  In addition, James is responsible for general business management and commercial issues.  

James is a qualified solicitor and spent the previous 6 years working at a leading Manchester commercial practice.

Dan Grierson, Planning Director
Dan joined us in April 2010. Dan is a qualified planner and member of The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) and he also holds a degree in Environmental Management Practice.

Dan specialises in site identification, the de-risking of proposals, the effective screening and scoping of proposals and the effective and proactive management of the consent process, both up to and following submission of the planning application.

Dan has worked in the onshore wind sector since 2001 and has played a major role in the delivery of planning consents for over 20 wind energy schemes throughout the UK, including: the Nissan wind turbines and Great Eppleton wind farms in Sunderland, Langley, Holmside, High Hedleyhope, Trimdon, Hare Hill and Broom Hill wind farms in Durham, the Edinbane site on Skye, the Clachan Flats sites in Argyll, the Glenkerie site in the Scottish Borders, the Croda turbine in Hull and a range of sites on behalf of Tesco including the Crick turbine in Northamptonshire.

Sandra Painter, Senior Developer
Sandra joined the team in December 2010 and has much experience in the development of wind farm projects. She worked as a Consents Manager for a developer where she was tasked with managing an Environmental Impact Assessment team. Sandra also has experience of running a renewable energy consultancy providing environmental planning services for wind and small hydro schemes.

Sandra's particular skills and experience lie in the initial site finding process, consultation and the management of the entire planning application process including management and compilation of environmental impact assessments for projects of all sizes.

Sandra has been involved in a number of consented and operational sites, including the following: Kirkheaton in Northumberland; Great Eppleton in Sunderland (the first site); Hare Hill, Holmside Hall and High Hedley Hope and Teesside; MSD in Cramlington; Edinbane on Skye; and the Clachan Flats site in Argyll. Sandra has worked on a number of other sites in the UK including the proposed 700MW Lewis Wind Farm, as Consents Manager for Amec Wind Energy.