Mike Nightingale experience in the Coal, Power and Energy Systems Engineering industries spans 50 years in the United Kingdom, Eire (Ireland), Botswana and South Africa.
He originally trained as a Power Electrical Engineer, but now with extensive multidisciplinary Systems Engineering Management and Business Systems Analysis experience, both as Owner and Supplier, in the international business arena on the continents of Europe, Africa, America, Asia and more recently Australasia.
He has 42 years International Project Management experience mainly in capital intensive industries, such as North Sea Oil-Rigs, Coal, Iron & Steel, Petro-Chemical and Power Generation among others. and held executive posts inter alia with Iscor, Dorbyl, Eskom and international players, such as, Geo Wimpey ME&C UK, Kennedy & Donkin UK, Mitsubishi Japan, NKK Japan, General Electric USA, Siemens, Germany, Waste Management International USA, The IT Group USA, etc.
Academic Background
Mike Nightingale completed his O-levels in 1955 at St. Bonaventure’s Roman Catholic Grammar School for Boys and went on to complete an Ordinary National Certificate in Electrical Engineering in 1960. In 1963, he upgraded to a Higher National Certificate in Electrical Engineering, at West Ham College of Technology, London University, now renamed East London University.
He registered as a Professional Engineering Technologist in 1993 and became a member of the Institute of Professional Engineering Technologists of South Africa in 1994.
He proceeded to undertake numerous postgraduate courses, as well as extensive training in the 30 year period that followed, even during the 1998/9 period upon his return to UK during which time he had taken up an appointment as an Engineering Consultant, East Anglia Region for European Union. His portfolio includes certificates in Business Management, Programme Management, Industrial Marketing Management, Systems Engineering Management and Business Leadership.
Career Growth
Michael began his career in 1955 with an indentured apprenticeship in Electrical Power & Control Systems Engineering at Tate and Lyle Ltd in the UK, which included a period of Marine Engineering on the company’s 35 000tonne bulk carrier, MV Sugar Carrier.
He joined Ilford Films Limited (UK) in 1961, as an Electrical Engineering Process Design and Development Engineer in photographic chemicals and materials. In 1964 he joined George Wimpey ME&C Ltd (UK) as Electrical Process Design Engineer, involved in Open-Cast Coal Mining and the Design and Construction of two Clean Coal Smokeless Fuel Plants at Markham Colliery, for the National Coal Board Research Centre, Stoke Orchard’s world renowned Professor Jacob Bronowski (b.1908 – d.1974). In 1967 Mike Nightingale was appointed Overseas Project Manager for the Iscor Steel Plant Expansion Project at Vanderbijlpark, South Africa for the same firm.
In 1969, he was engaged directly by the South African Iron & Steel Industrial Corporation Limited, at their Iscor Works Vanderbijlpark, as extension programme Project Development Engineer responsible for Architect Engineering, on a two 90MW Arc Furnace Shop, a Slab/Plate Combination Mill, a Metallurgical Coal Blending Plant System, three Coke Oven & Gas By–Product Plant Systems, the 2050mm Hot Strip Mill, Hot Rolled Strip Processing, Galvanising and Tinning Lines with a Five Stand Tandem Cold Mill and the Modernisation of the South Works Cold Mills, Galvanising and Paint Lines capital plant extensions up to a nominal Integrated Steel Works capacity of 10 Million tonnes per annum. This was under the leadership of the renowned South African Industrialist Doug Ellis, later Chairman of Dorbyl Ltd at that time the largest engineering group in the Southern Hemisphere. Mike was himself transferred to Dorbyl Ltd in 1978, as a General Manager, where he was responsible for the design, supply and commissioning of various two Stage Coal Gas Producer plants for the steel, metals and glass industries.
In 1985 he joined Leys Engineering as General Manager, Energy Projects and Business Development principally responsible for four new Spouted Fluidised Bed Combustion Systems at Cape Town and Pretoria works of British Gypsum Industries.
He joined Eskom Generation Group in 1987 and was initially appointed Systems Engineering Manager and later Power Station Performance Growth Project Manager at Lethabo, directly involved in the commissioning and optimisation of the first 6 Unit 670MW, 4 020MW Power Station operating on 19Mj/kg low grade coal. For this, in 1989, he obtained the Eskom Engineering Group Manager’s award for Innovation, in recognition of his contribution of exceptional value to Eskom.
In 1993 Mike was appointed Systems Engineering Manager, Generation Group, responsible the development and functional operation of an Integrated Engineering Information System (IEIS) for inter alia Arnot, Kendal, Tutuka, Matimba, Majuba, Duvha, Matla and Hendrina and their optimisation which led to the introduction under the guidance of Allan Morgan, Chief Executive and the late Bruce Crookes Director Generation Group, of Eskom’s Integrated Enterprise Information System for High System Availability (UCF) to above 90% and reduce the Cost per kWh Sent Out. During this time he oversaw the commissioning and optimization of all Eskom’s Generation Group System of 6 Pack 4 000MW Power Station expansion programme and returned to England in 1996.
Since 1996 Mike Nightingale has operated from the United Kingdom as an Independent Energy & Power Systems Consultant undertaking Systems Analyses and Optimisation Projects.
In 2001, he was appointed as consultant to the Botswana Ministry of Minerals Energy & Water Resources, Department of Mines with the principal focus on Botswana Coal Based Industrialisation. This has subsequently developed into Integrated Ultra Clean Coal Energy Fuels (UCCEF) Processing for African Wealth Creation specifically within the SADC Region. This includes the integration of Ultra Clean Coal Energy extraction in gigajoules rather than tonnes and Zero Coal Waste Energy Processing all aimed at “Added Value” energy processing of Gondwana Type Coals for Electricity, Gaseous and Liquid Fuels together with a full range of chemicals and fertilisers fully environmentally compliant with ISO 14 000 .
Michael has authored almost 100 technical papers and reports and has been researching and developing the Socio-Ecological and Techno-Economic benefits of “Gondwana Coal Based Ecological Industrialisation” over the last ten years, working extensively in the Republic of Botswana and the monetization of its more than 200 billion tonne Coal Resource .
Family and Personal Life
Michael J L Nightingale has been happily married to Janet for more than 50 years with two children both married his daughter Michelle and husband Michael, living back in Hampshire, UK and his son Mark and his wife Rachel have recently moved from London, UK to live in Sydney, Australia.
Mike’s professed core values are Openness, Honesty, Integrity, Ethics, Respect, Courtesy and Personal Dignity with a reputation for being a passionate learner of socio-ecological development. He is deeply spiritual, is an amateur historian and enjoys swimming, walking and horse riding in his spare time.
