Collaboration for the green business era – Jean Morrison

January 4, 2021
Collaboration for the green business era – Jean Morrison

In 2020, we have collectively experienced rapid and significant changes to both our personal and work lives. The energy industry has been affected as much as any and the drop in oil price is always felt across the north east of Scotland.

However, a time of crisis opens the door for positive transformation. We have seen this across the sector during the past 12 months, with new commitments to renewable energy production and increased momentum towards decarbonisation and net zero.

In 2021, the COP26 conference comes to Glasgow where many global targets and green energy policies will be debated and negotiated right here in Scotland. It will be an exciting time, with an international spotlight on the collective excellence, and capabilities of the Scottish and UK supply chain.

To build resilience and drive the economic recovery, it is vital that the energy transition remains a top priority, where there are sizeable opportunities for growth and job creation as part of the ‘green industrial revolution’. In his recent ten-point plan for a green revolution, the Prime Minister set out that the UK government would support 250,000 jobs in green energy by 2030 with £12 billion of government investment, as well as stimulating billions of pounds more in private investment.

With these ambitions, we need a supported supply chain where companies are empowered and enabled to make their own renewable energy commitments and build their business models around how they can service an adapting energy environment. We are collaborating with our peers from other membership organisations to highlight the views of AREG members and reach out to the supply chain to enable these efforts towards net zero. A key part of this will be aligning on the collective issues that the whole supply chain is facing, and there needs to be a collaborative approach here.

In the north east of Scotland, we already have a significant base of expertise to be able to respond and seize opportunities within several of the UK’s key strength areas as described in the government plan, namely offshore wind, hydrogen, public transport, homes and carbon capture. It gives me great pride to say that we are already leading in many of these areas, but it will take a combination of all these technologies to meet our emissions reductions targets.

This type of transformation requires a long-lead time, so action must be taken quickly to integrate the supply chain skills to match these ambitions for the future. In 2021 and during the countdown to COP26, we will continue to foster and enable dialogue with the supply chain around the energy transition, with a view to showcasing our world leading technologies and expertise, as well as bringing new green business opportunities to the area.

Jean Morrison, Chair of AREG

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.

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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
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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
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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.

All-Energy
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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
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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