
Seán completed his B.E. (Hons) and PhD degrees in Energy Engineering at University College Cork in Ireland in 2014 and 2018 respectively. The core aim of his PhD thesis was to use a multi-model approach to improve the representation of short-term power sector operation in long-term energy system planning. This work helped enable a better understanding of the role of electricity in the wider European energy system decarbonisation. Seán is a post-doctoral researcher at the Institute for Integrated Energy Systems who is working to improve our understanding of how the hydro-rich power system of British Columbia can be harnessed to maximise renewable energy integration in the province. This is being achieved by using an industry standard dispatch modelling tool, PLEXOS, to study the impact of various policy measures on the system's ability to integrate hydropower in British Columbia. By modelling the dispatch of a highly resolved British Columbia within a less granular full U.S. and Canada dispatch model allows its interactions with the wider region to be captured which strongly influence its ability to effectively utilize its hydropower resources. Resultant from this is an ability to give meaningful and credible insight into policy design by capturing the operation of the power system of British Columbia in a broader regional context.