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Our People
Meet the team making community renewables happen on Arran. Our team is made up of a wonderful cross-section of people from different backgrounds, bringing a variety of skills and experiences to the project. Each member plays an important role in helping us deliver community renewable energy initiatives and making a positive difference on Arran. We’d love for you to join us too! Volunteers play a vital role in supporting community engagement, site activities, and the running of the project. Whether you have time to help occasionally or want to get more involved, there’s a place for you. Please see the volunteer roles we are currently looking to recruit on the bottom of the page.
Our Volunteers
Chris Grainger - Director
Chris is a chartered engineer with 12 years’ experience developing renewable energy projects in the UK, US and Middle East. Chris now works as an Investment Manager at Thrive Renewables (formerly Triodos Renewables) with a focus on development of new wind and solar project alongside the repowering of Thrive’s existing wind farm portfolio.
Donald McNicol - Director
Donald has over 25 years’ experience in conventional and renewable generation in the feasibility, design and technical due diligence of power plants in the UK, US, Hong Kong, Mozambique, Italy, Ireland and the UK. He was the head of the engineering consultancy group for ScottishPower Technology and subsequently worked for Atkins plc for 10 years setting up their generation group in Glasgow and latterly became the Director of Due Diligence for SgurrEnergy which was founded in 2002 and became the largest wind energy consultancy in the UK and the second largest solar consultancy and had offices in 12 countries. Donald is a mechanical engineer and is a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
A long, long time ago he attended Kilmory Primary School.
Gavin Steven - Director
Gavin retired in 2014 after working for BT for 41 years. He was educated in Rutherglen and has a degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering. Working in BT, he gained experience in Field Work, Sales / Technical Support, Corporate Governance and ending up in a senior role in IT Project Management in charge of global billing projects. He has always taken a keen interest in participation in sports and while living in US, gained a Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do. Interested in dinghy sailing and hillwalking from the age of 15, he stills finds time to take a wander in the Scottish hills along with a group of his friends from his long past school days. Gavin also volunteers at C.O.A.S.T. on Arran.
Esther Brown - Director
Esther is an Arran Eco Savvy founder Trustee since 2013. One of the original group who felt Arran needed a green voice. Esther has been involved with many community groups, in all office bearing roles. A part of the team who opened the shop in 2014 , helping to secure charitable status in 2015, she has been behind 4 yrs of successful Scottish Government funded 'Climate Challenge Fund' projects. Esther continues to work closely on Eco’s developments. After a career in the media industry, living in her home town of Glasgow & travelling extensively, she moved to Arran in 2005 with her young family. Esther has worked for the local Arran Art Gallery since 2006 & is also involved in the vibrant community of arts on Arran.
Sofi Graham
​Sofi has been a Project Manager for Eco Savvy since May 2024, bringing her passion for sustainable living and renewable energy into her work. Before that, she was an Operations Manager for a large Glasgow-based company.
She first moved to Arran in 2019 for work, having never visited before, and quickly fell in love with everything the island has to offer. Now, she splits her time between Arran and Glasgow, where she has family, staying connected to both communities she calls home.
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Bill MacGregor
Bill is a retired civil engineer who for most of his career has worked in the Scottish electricity sector in the latter years as a developer of new hydroelectric power stations. He has a keen interest in community energy projects, witness his community energy investments around the UK and his occasional talks at the energy events organised by EcoSavvy.
And on the domestic front, Bill has experience of installing insulation, triple glazing, whole house ventilation with heat recovery, heat pumps, solar panels, battery storage, EV charging, smart meters and smart tariffs, both on Arran and in Perthshire.
Bill benefits from negative home energy costs, i.e. annually his energy supplier pays him more than £1 a month he pays the supplier.
Rod Urquhart
Rod is a retired chartered engineer with UK and international experience across the power generation, seawater desalination and process plant industries as a senior project manager for design and construction contractors. Having been a frequent visitor to Arran for over 30 years, enjoying the island's mountains and cycling, and now a partial resident he's keen to offer voluntary support to projects bringing environmental benefit to the island community.
Our Consultants
We work with a range of external paid consultants to support the development of the project in areas where we require specific expertise and support.
Anna Baker - Cottars Consulting
Programme Management
John Millen - Verday Ltd
Project Management
Ursula Kelly - STUDIO SOFTBOX Ltd
Communications & Marketing
Volunteer Roles
Community Engagement and Communications
We are seeking a Director/Volunteer to lead on Community Engagement and help deliver the Glenkiln Solar Farm — set to become Scotland’s largest 100% community-owned solar energy project.
This flexible role (around 8–10 hours per month) involves leading community engagement by supporting both in-person and online communications and events, helping us connect with the community and work as effectively as possible.
If you’re interested in talking to people and helping us engage meaningfully with the community, we would love your help.
As the project progresses, ensuring we get our message out there both locally and nationally will be increasingly important. This will drive the success of our community share offer and inspire local involvement in this landmark project.
Expenses covered.
Voluntary Director – Finance & Coporate Governance
We are inviting people from all backgrounds to join us as a voluntary Director supporting the Glenkiln Solar Farm – on track to become Scotland’s largest 100% community-owned renewable energy project. This flexible role (around 8–10 hours per month) helps guide finance, governance and decision-making as the project moves from vision to reality. You don’t need formal qualifications – just an interest in how community projects are funded and run, and a passion for Arran’s future. You’ll be part of a friendly, committed volunteer team creating clean energy for community benefit and a lasting legacy for the island. Expenses covered.