Need to ‘adapt and be innovative’ in the face of energy transition

The stock of the renewable energy sector is rising in the eyes of many oil and gas bosses looking to diversify their business, John Casserly said last night.

He claimed that, excluding Brexit, the energy transition was one of the

“most talked about topics right now”.

Mr Casserly said: “Apart from the oil majors, the support companies have realised that there is a long-term future in the renewable energy sector.

“Oil and gas will be around for a while, but now Aberdeen companies are looking to give themselves more lasting security by working across other industries.

“Our biggest problem is whether we can leverage the local capability for what we need it for. There is a great supply chain here, but we need it to be able to adapt and be innovative.”

Last month, SSE Renewables announced that it has inked a deal to use Montrose port as its operations and maintenance base for the construction of the Seagreen Offshore Wind Farm. It revealed Danish manufacturer MHI Vestas as its preferred wind turbine supplier.

Mr Casserly claimed SSE Renewables is committed to creating lasting jobs locally. He said: “Scotland is really good at doing things, and our biggest export is often our people.

“It would be good if, instead of exporting the best people from our energy sector, we kept them here and their skill set.

“I think offshore wind has the ability to have a great impact on skilled jobs and to create jobs here.

“We’re currently trying to focus on how do we secure long-term, good, high-quality jobs for the UK, and particularly locally in the north of Scotland.”

After Seagreen phase one, SSE Renewables will look to move on to the second phase, building a wind cluster capable of powering over 2 million homes. SSE is understood to be looking at a completion date of 2024.