Alumni spotlight
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Paul Kemp, BSc (Eng)’80 (Civil Engineering)
Renewable energy has been “a long time coming”
Sector pioneer and Schulich guest lecturer pleased to see renewables finally taking off
Paul Kemp, BSc (Eng)’80, has spent decades helping clients build extensive hydro and wind projects across North America.
Renewable energy development has been “a long time coming,” says the co-founder and former president of Canadian Projects Limited, one of the country’s most experienced and innovative renewable energy engineering consultants. “I've been doing this for 44 years, and I honestly thought this would happen 20 years sooner,” says Kemp.
It’s been “a long haul” but also a rewarding career.
We learned things every day and we got to push the edges of the technology, invent new ways of doing things and reapply old ways of doing things in a new way.
Paul Kemp, BSc (Eng)’80 (Civil Engineering)
Kemp started out working on irrigation projects in Southern Alberta before moving into the renewable energy sector. He credits the collaborative nature of the water resources industry for giving him the courage to “expand into new horizons.” From small projects here at home, Canadian Projects Limited expanded across Canada and the U.S. helping clients achieve sustainability and profitability.
He’s especially grateful for clients who were willing to take risks and help grow the renewable sector. “Going to work was a lot of fun, very, very challenging and quite exciting,” says Kemp, who is semi-retired and now a senior advisor to Canadian Projects Limited. “We learned things every day and we got to push the edges of the technology, invent new ways of doing things and reapply old ways of doing things in a new way.”
Yet, the engineer who has solved countless problems in renewables didn’t really know what he was getting into when he started studying engineering alongside about a dozen high school classmates at UCalgary in 1976. “I was good at math and science, and I liked the larger scale of civil engineering,” he says. “That was just my natural progression. But I really didn't know what an engineer was, and I didn't know any engineers.”
These days, Kemp gets to know plenty of up-and-coming engineers when giving regular lectures at Schulich. In addition to helping build (and utilize) the water lab in the basement of the Energy Environment Experiential Learning (EEEL) building, he shares his considerable knowledge with students, where he talks about integrating engineering, business, environmental science, social engagement, and regulatory reform.
“My lectures are usually about an hour,” he says. “It's the ultimate compliment when the students stay on after the evening class. You finish around 7 p.m. and they stay there until 9 p.m. talking to you.”
Kemp has a lot to say—and a lot of passion—about the renewable energy sector. He loves the holistic nature and myriad of benefits provided by a renewable project. “We don't just build renewables to produce electricity,” he says. “We are often building renewables to solve multiple issues at once. Hydro can solve your drought mitigation, it solves your flood mitigation, and your renewable green energy needs. It also provides recreation and involves Indigenous people to a huge degree.”
The Canadian renewable energy sector may have taken longer than he expected to get going and had a few bumps along the way, but Kemp is adamant, “we have a huge future in renewables.”