MEMBER NEWS: Industry heavy hitter appointed project development director for Salamander floating wind farm

August 15, 2023
MEMBER NEWS: Industry heavy hitter appointed project development director for Salamander floating wind farm

Ørsted, Simply Blue Group and Subsea7 have appointed Hugh Yendole as development director for Salamander, a pioneering floating offshore wind joint venture.

With over 25 years’ experience in the wind industry, Hugh has played a crucial role in delivering and managing multiple ground-breaking offshore and onshore developments across the UK, Europe and the US. Most notable examples include Ørsted’s London Array, Burbo and Walney Extensions, and Hornsea 1. His expertise spans senior positions in project development, engineering, asset and technology management.

Hugh joins the project from within Ørsted, where he remains employed, and has spent 12 years across various key roles, most recently as director and asset manager for Ørsted’s west coast UK offshore wind farms.

Starting at the end of summer, Hugh will be responsible for the overarching delivery of the project, managing commercial negotiations and developing stakeholder relationships.

Hugh said: “I’m really looking forward to heading Salamander. It is a pioneering stepping-stone project ushering in an exciting new era of possibilities for green energy generation. It’s a privilege to be joining the talented team already supporting this revolutionary project.

“Salamander provides a fantastic opportunity to show that floating offshore wind can significantly contribute to the UK’s energy mix, help us meet the net zero targets set by the Scottish and UK governments, and build a UK-focused supply chain. The ongoing efforts from the Ørsted, Simply Blue Group and Subsea7 teams prove that collaboration is essential to successfully driving windfarm projects from start to finish.”

Prior to Hugh Yendole’s appointment, Salamander was led by Huw Bell who successfully acted as a caretaker for the project and will remain on board to oversee its delivery.

To be located 35km off the coast of Peterhead, the 100 MW Salamander floating offshore wind farm will generate enough green energy to power 100,000 Scottish homes, making it a key contributor to the delivery of the Scottish Government’s offshore wind target of 11GW by 2030.

Salamander will also provide vital insights and help establish best practices for future commercial scale developments in Scottish waters, ahead of the larger-scale ScotWind buildout.

Further information on the wind farm can be found at: www.salamanderfloatingwind.com.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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