Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group (AREG) has been hailed as a ‘powerful and proactive’ organisation after attracting 10 new members within two months.

The pioneering private-public parternship, which aims to position Aberdeen City and Shire at the global forefront of the renewable energy revolution, now has more than 165 members – a soaring 25% rise over the last year – spanning the full spectrum of renewable energy expertise including onshore and offshore wind, marine and hydro, bio, solar, geothermal energy and hydrogen and fuel cells.

Among the new members are Advisafe Risk Management, Aubin Ltd, Enventi Ltd, Enviko, Renewable Energy Solutions, HSBC, Langlee Wave Power, Pisys Limited, RPS Energy and SeaHold GEOSHIPS Ltd.

Richard Smith, business development manager of SeaHold GEOSHIPS, said: “We are currently in the process of initiating a comprehensive brand building campaign to introduce our approach and services to the offshore renewables market.  It is hoped that membership of AREG will help promote GEOSHIPS and raise the profile of the company and capability of Aberdeen based contractors in the industry.

“AREG is a powerful and proactive orgaisation, which promotes Aberdeen, its opportunities and business, and one that will develop our renewable involvement.  We are pleased to be a new member of AREG and look forward to being involved with the organisation.”

Seahold GEOSHIPS Ltd is a marine and subsea services contractor, offering dynamically positioned vessels, equipped with subsea work spreads to suit operations in the offshore renewable market.

Morag McCorkindale, chief operating officer at AREG, said many of the new members had joined following All-Energy 2011 where AREG had its biggest ever presence on its pavilion.

“The success of this year’s All-Energy show in May demonstrated Aberdeen City and Shire’s renewable energy credentials to a global audience,” she said, “This is very much reflected in the quality of organisations continueing to recognise the benefits that membership of AREG can provide.

“The region is home to a world-class concentration of innovation, knowledge and expertise in the energy industry.  It is our principle that by working together we can capitalise on this established skill-set and position the region as a global player in sustainable energy.”

Paddy Collins, managing director of Aubin, a leading independent supplier of specialist chemicals to the energy industry, views AREG as an ideal forum for exchanging skills, innovation and technology.

He said:  “We exhibited on the AREG pavilion at All-Energy and were very impressed with the organisation as a whole.  Its commitment to promoting the transfer of expertise between the oil and gas and the offshore renewables industry falls very much in line with our own interest.

“Our recently launced Gel Lift System (GLS) for example, which could save millions of pounds during the installation phase of offshore renewables infrastructire, was a spin-off from our DeepBuoy product, a subsea lifting and handling tool specifically designed for use in the oil & gas industry.”

Founder and GEO of wave developer Langlee Wave Power, Julius Espedal has his sights set on delivering cost effective energy to the UK and globally, and beleives an AREG membership will help drive these ambitions.

He said: “Scotland is trailblazing many of the advances in renewable energy and AREG provides a great platform for like-minded organisations to meet and debate the issues.  Collaboration is key to achieving the targets for renewable energy.”

Pisys is a Scottish software company which specialises in the creation and delivery of software products and services to a worldwide client base.  From its origins in the Nort Sea oil industry, Pisys has developed extensive experience of creating mission critical software capable of operating reliably in harsh environments.

Gemma Beecroft, of Pisys, added: “Pisys has joined AREG as we are looking to extend our services into the marine and wind energy sectors.  We feel through an affiliation with AREG there is potential to make alliances and form new partnerships that will allow us to be involved in the advancements of renewables industry.”

AREG is a not-for-profit organisation which is actively working to ensure that Aberdeen City and Shire capitalises on the inventiveness and enterprise that has firmly established the region as the oil capital of Europe.  AREG aims to position the region as a global energy hub with a reputation for delivering renewable energy innovation.

The partnership is an independent company with its own Board of Directors and members who are committed to the development of renewables.  Members include oil and gas majors, technology developers, service, engineering, training, accreditation companies, four local authorities, development agencies and trade associations.