AREG sees steady growth in membership numbers

December 11, 2018
AREG sees steady growth in membership numbers

Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group (AREG) 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 ground-breaking projects, both domestically and abroad.

The membership organisation has also been involved in supporting various significant landmark projects during its 15 year history. It recently saw Vattenfall, a long-standing member, producing 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% 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 recognising the benefits of becoming an AREG member. We are continuing to invest in the organisation 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 UK 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 & 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 US and the UK.

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.

Get in touch

AREG is the original energy transition organisation, working on behalf of members to empower the energy supply chain and champion its expertise. Please get in touch if you have any questions or would like to find out more about membership.

AREG has played an important role in the growth of Scotland’s renewable energy sector, engaging the supply chain and developing the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre. However, we are only at the very beginning of the transition that AREG was established to both lead and support so there are still opportunities for companies to get into the constantly evolving renewables supply chain. We look forward to continuing our work together as renewables builds on its place as Scotland’s main source of power, and as we seek to deliver real change in the crucial areas of heat and transport.

Scottish Renewables

Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce has worked closely with AREG since its formation. The recent progress in the developments of offshore wind projects by Equinor and Vattenfall are as a result of the work of the group over many years. The north-east is known as the oil and gas capital of Europe. At the Chamber, we believe the region must evolve its position to being recognised as the energy capital. Whilst hydrocarbons will continue to be essential in driving our economy for years to come, the generation of renewable resources will play an increasingly important role in providing cost-effective power, innovative development and economic growth.

Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce

The enthusiasm and dedication of the early group that would become AREG was fundamental in us choosing to launch All-Energy in Aberdeen. The first tiny show was held in 2001, and AREG’s Chairman at the time, Jeremy Cresswell, played such an active role that I often describe him in terms such as All-Energy’s ‘midwife’. All-Energy is now the UK’s largest renewable and low carbon energy exhibition and conference in terms of number of attendees, space booked, and number of exhibiting companies. As AREG became firmly established, their presence and support for the event grew spectacularly over the years. We thank them most sincerely for their invaluable input.

All-Energy

Vattenfall has forged a strong working relationship with AREG through the development of the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre. AREG has worked tirelessly on behalf of the North East and it can take enormous credit for the growth of sustainable energy in the region and the path it has cleared for the region to capture further investment.

Vattenfall

Aberdeen City and Shire is emerging as a key location for renewables by successfully transferring its world-class oil and gas expertise into the sector and AREG has done much to advance this through a broad range of initiatives. It has acted as a catalyst in driving further investment in the local economy by engaging with companies, Government, public bodies and existing projects and we have been pleased to support their efforts. Scottish Enterprise will continue to engage with AREG as we increase Scotland’s use of renewable energy.

Scottish Enterprise