Industry intelligence service, A Word About Wind, highlights achievements of Lauren Wheatley as one of the wind industry's leading female figures.

Lauren Wheatley, Director of Technical at Natural Power, has achieved the ranking of 68th in the first Womens Power List, published by wind industry intelligence service, A Word About Wind. The report aims to promote and celebrate the contribution of the female dealmakers and powerbrokers shaping the wind industrys development and the accolade recognises Laurens achievements in this regard.

The report is the first of its kind, with rankings compiled by the A Word About Wind editorial team in collaboration with an impartial senior advisory board. As such, Laurens position on the list testifies to her growing influence and that of her team on the sector, as evidenced by her department at Natural Power undertaking more than 300 projects last year - the most notable being the 100 MW Kipeto Wind Farm in Kenya and Tellenes in Norway, whose generated energy has been purchased by Google to supply its data centres.

Lauren oversees a department of 27 analysts and engineers working globally. Having recently restructured her team in the last two years, she has also aligned and streamlined methodologies whilst spear-heading a preconstruction energy yield methodology validation study that has greatly improved Natural Powers market position in North America.

"Despite women being significantly under-represented at senior management and board level within the wind industry, ranking the key female players within the sector was no easy task," said Adam Barber, Publisher of A Word About Wind.

"In doing so, the report aims to highlight the achievements and exciting careers these women have carved out within the wind sector - and hopefully encourage more women to follow in their footsteps."

Ted Leeming, Managing Director at Natural Power, said: "As competition within the market intensifies, Lauren has created a strong focus on methods and innovations that will enable Natural Power to remain at the cutting edge of the industry. She is a keen supporter of women in engineering and has engendered a positive and diverse culture within her team. We are delighted her work has been recognised by A Word About Wind in this Power List."

The report profiles the top 100 women currently working in the wind industry, with each candidate having been nominated by her peers, and then assessed and ranked by an independent judging panel made up of senior industry representatives. In addition to the rankings, the Womens Power List features in-depth and exclusive interviews with a number of those included.

"This new power list highlights the important role women are now playing in the wind industry. The UK is one of the leading performers in the rankings, which is an encouraging sign that our sector is becoming more inclusive," said Emma Pinchbeck, RenewableUKs Executive Director.

"We need to ensure that women across the country see wind energy as an open and attractive industry to work in. This means promoting renewable skills and opportunities to a new generation of women entering the workforce."

For further information, and to obtain a copy of the Womens Power List report, please visit: http://www.awordaboutwind.com/reports/wind-industry-report-womens-power-list-2017/