English engineering company Blackfish may soon be opening an office in Aberdeen after setting its sights on Scottish offshore wind developments.
The Bristol firm is today launching a Scottish arm to support the fast-growing sector.
Crown Estate Scotland’s ScotWind leasing round has paved the way for a wave of wind energy projects off this country’s coastlines.
A spokesman for Blackfish said: “All ScotWind developers have made bold commitments to maximise the use of the Scottish supply chain, and Blackfish’s new Scottish operation plays strongly to this.
Scottish growth plan
“Our ambition is to grow our team and set up an office base in Edinburgh or Aberdeen in the months ahead.”
Blackfish pointed to a long track record in marine renewables in Scotland, where it has worked closely with wave and tidal pioneers Mocean Energy and Orbital Marine Power, alongside a growing portfolio of offshore wind clients.
It now plans to ramp up its offering to Scotland’s “burgeoning offshore wind pipeline”.
The new “dedicated team” based in Aberdeen and Edinburgh is led by senior engineers Nick Del-Greco and James Hastie, together with strategic advisor Stuart Brown.
Managing director Jonathan Powell said: “The rapid expansion of offshore wind in Scotland, in particular the ScotWind round, is creating strong demand for solution-focused engineers who can partner with developers to address real-life complex engineering challenges with the clear goals of improving safety, accelerating innovation and driving down cost.
“Already we are working with two of the three largest wind turbine OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) and nine of the world’s biggest offshore wind developers.”
Mr Powell added the company was “actively developing bespoke, innovative designs and technology to improve efficiency and lower costs for the sector”.
He continued: “We are also engaged with innovation bodies including Wave Energy Scotland, the Carbon Trust and the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult to develop industry-standard products in areas including electrical connections and moorings.”
‘Exciting times’ for offshore wind engineering
Mr Hastie said: “We believe our knowledge of tackling problems in the offshore environment is second to none.
“The creation of a distinct Scottish operation enables us to be closer to our customers, deliver content locally and create opportunities to further expand our offering north of the border.
“These are really exciting times to be involved in offshore wind engineering.”
Conversation