AREG Membership on the Rise

Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group (AREG) reports it has seen its membership numbers rise over the past 12 months with an increase in the number of companies supporting both the offshore wind and wave and tidal sectors.

Among the 25 new sign-ups are marine engineering firm EC-OG, weather forecasting business StormGeo AS, fabric maintenance business, Venko Offshore and Optimus, the multi-discipline engineering design consultancy. They will be joining the ranks of long-term members such as BMT Cordah, DNV GL, Forum Subsea Technologies, Shell UK Ltd, and Xodus Group.

AREG was founded in 2003 to support firms looking to grow within the renewables sector. It provides opportunities for direct access to some of the industry’s largest developers through its events. It also connects businesses with access to projects, both domestically and abroad.

The  organization has also been involved in supporting various significant landmark projects during its 15 year history. It recently saw long-standing member Vattenfall produce first power from the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC) in Aberdeen bay. AREG played an integral part to getting this project off the ground and eventually sold its 25 percent stake in the wind farm to the Swedish energy group in 2016.

Jean Morrison, chair of AREG, said, “It is an exciting period for the renewables industry in Scotland and around the world. We’ve seen Scotland producing enough green energy to power the equivalent of five million homes, and both the EOWDC and Hywind are now generating power off the North-east coast.

“It’s been a rapid period of growth for the sector and with more and more companies looking towards an energy transition, it’s encouraging to see so many businesses recognizing the benefits of becoming an AREG member. We are continuing to invest in the organization with the launch of a new website which will provide members with the ability to connect with like-minded companies and source key information about the supply chain.

“We have such a wide number of members across tidal, wave, onshore and offshore wind, geothermal, biomass, solar and hydrogen and fuel cells which places us in a strong position to continue promoting the extensive capabilities and competencies of the local supply chain to U.K. and international markets.”

One of the latest members to sign up, EC-OG, developed its Subsea Power Hub technology to store and produce energy for subsea infrastructure.

Business Development Manager, Paul Slorach, commented, “Since being established as an oil and gas research and development firm, we have also identified the opportunities that the renewable industry has to offer for our technology.

“While we’ve been undergoing this period of significant growth in our business, we decided to become AREG members and it has already proven to be beneficial. We’ve made some important contacts, had the opportunity to present our technology at their events and been given the chance to get involved in projects that are in line with our business strategy to grow in this market.”

Earlier this year, AREG entered into a partnership with The Business Network for Offshore Wind in the United States giving offshore wind related members the opportunity to collaborate and pursue commercial, strategic and policy interests in the U.S. and the U.K.

AREG is also a key member of the Europe Leading Blue Energy (ELBE) project, which seeks to position Europe as the world’s technological and industrial leader in blue energy.