Aberdeen to host offshore wind industry event

In partnership with The Crown Estate, owner of the UK seabed, Scottish Enterprise will host the event at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre from 9.30am where speakers will demonstrate the huge scale of offshore wind opportunities in the UK and future business opportunities will be facilitated through one-to-one meetings and networking within an exhibition area.  The event is aimed at companies with the capability to supply and service the offshore wind industry, particularly those that may not yet have considered the sector.  

Lord Hunt, Minister of State for the Department of Energy and Climate Change will deliver the keynote address.  Speakers will also include John Swinney MSP from the Scottish Government, Dermot Grimson and Alastair Dutton from The Crown Estate and Adrian Gillespie from Scottish Enterprise. 

In addition, offshore wind development partners will give presentations including Dan Finch of Moray Offshore Renewables Ltd, Steve Clarke of Mainstream Renewable Power and John Sinclair from Subocean Group.

The exhibition area will include representation from both the speaker organisations and the following companies:

• Round 3 Zone 2 – Firth of Forth – SeaGreen Wind Energy Ltd equally owned by SSE Renewables and Fluor
• Round 3 Zone 3 - Dogger Bank -  Forewind Consortium equally owned by each of SSE Renewables, RWE Npower Renewables, Statoil and Statkraft
• Round 3 Zone 5 – Norfolk Bank – East Anglia Offshore Wind Limited owned equally by ScottishPower Renewables and Vattenfall Vindkraft
• Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm
• E.ON Climate & Renewables
• Scottish Power
• AREG  (Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group)
• Subsea UK
• Marine Scotland
• Scottish Renewables
• National Grid Offshore
• SMAS (Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service)
• Carbon Trust

One-to-one sessions will take place during the event to offer supply chain companies the opportunity to meet directly with development partners to discuss business opportunities. 

Adrian Gillespie, Director, Energy and Low Carbon Technologies at Scottish Enterprise said, ”Scotland is leading the way in setting targets for carbon reduction.  We also have world-leading capabilities within our existing and potential renewables supply chains.  Maximising the involvement of Scottish companies in offshore wind makes sense all round. It's good for the economy and it's good for offshore wind farm developers to have strong local partnerships in place.  These events are a chance for businesses in Scotland to see the enormous growth opportunities that offshore wind deployment presents and what part their businesses may play in this.  They will also have the chance to meet key decision makers in the Offshore Wind sector."

Rob Hastings, Head of the Marine Estate at The Crown Estate, said “We are delighted to be working with Scottish Enterprise and Government in jointly hosting the offshore wind energy supply chain event in Aberdeen.

“The industry is proposing that 25% of the UK's electricity demand will be met from offshore wind by 2020 and this represents a massive long term investment opportunity for Scotland.

“It has the potential to generate thousands of jobs in the UK, our event in Aberdeen is the ideal opportunity for the business community in to find out how they can benefit from the growth in the offshore wind sector.”

This event is the first of a series of 12 events taking place across the UK.   Scottish Enterprise is also hosting one in Glasgow on the 4 February, and Highlands & Islands Enterprise is hosting one in Inverness on 2 February.  For further information visit http://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/