The Team

Company Directors

 

Rory Newman Rory Newman was elected at a Director at the 2019 AGM and was appointed as Chair of Esk Energy at the 2020 AGM.  Following retirement from being a GP in Sleights, he has proved a useful member of our operations team and is co-ordinating our Friends of Ruswarp Hydro working parties.
Mike-Ford Mike Ford has been a Director of Esk Energy since the start of the project. Mike is an electrical engineer and has been instrumental in engineering an efficient scheme, maximising the output of the project. Mike has also worked closely with Northern Powergrid assisting local people in getting generating equipment grid connected.

Mark Lewis

Mark Lewis was co-opted as a Director after the 2023 AGM.  As an electrical engineer he is interested in the project technology and is active in looking for similar opportunities in local communities around Stokesley.  He works part time with Tees Valley Combined Authority as part of their Net Zero team advising on  the achievement of this goal on Teesside. This team also includes the UK Government Energy Hub for the North East of the UK.

Operations Team

Debbie Trebilco Debbie Trebilco is a volunteer who developed the business plan and funding for the scheme. Debbie has a background in industry and was a Senior Manager with ICI.
Mike Barnard Mike Barnard has 40 years of experience of operating/maintaining/repairing diesel and gas turbine driven generators. Now he is using his experience of their electrical and hydraulic systems to help undertake the weekly site visits. Mike was co-opted as a Director between Sept. 20211 and Sept. 2022.
Stephen Larkin Stephen Larkin is a retired associate lecturer having tutored on the Open University’s science and environmental modules including Energy and Sustainability. He has worked on the Esk Energy responses to relevant consultations.
Dave Moore Dave Moore is a retired electronic instrument design engineer with lots of experience as a field engineer in the security and communications fields with a passion for recycling and energy conservation.

Thanks to previous members of the team

The Development Team (up to commissioning) consisted of Andrew Maisey, Caryn Loftus, Colin Mather, Debbie Trebilco, Geoff Banner, Mike Ford, Mike Gilbert, Mike Loftus, Peter Jones, Sarah Stead, Stephen Larkin and Steve Smith. Many thanks to Geoff Banner, Mike Gilbert, Peter Jones and Steve Smith who helped during the development stage of the project but due to personal circumstances are not able to be involved in the project following commissioning and to Andrew Maisey and Sarah Stead who have retired as Directors to pursue other interests.

Colin Mather headed the team driving forward this project and other energy related projects in the Esk Valley and was Chair of Esk Energy (Yorkshire) Limited until the 2020 AGM and a Director until the 2022AGM. Colin is a retired Civil Engineer who has many years experience of the management and construction of civil engineering projects and continues to help out when he can.

David Curtis served as a Director from November 2016 until March 2022. David provided a shareholder’s viewpoint from outside the immediate set-up involved in decisions with not living locally. There is real value in having an “outsider” who may spot organisational “blind spots” that the rest of us miss.

Special thanks go to Caryn and Mike Loftus
Caryn who retired in 2026 brought an extremely professional skill in managing our administration, our licence to operate regulatory requirements and kept the whole group together so we worked efficiently. Without her the turbine would not be operating today.

Mike Loftus who also retired from the group in 2026 rigorously kept us on track with his flawless accounting as well as his ability to model our future viability with his bespoke financial projections. The knowledge he gave us vastly simplified our financial decision making. Just like Caryn his skills were invaluable and enabled us to navigate an everchanging financial environment.