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AREG News: Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group Welcomes Bowdun’s £360 Million Commitment to North East Operations Base

November 6, 2025
AREG News: Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group Welcomes Bowdun’s £360 Million Commitment to North East Operations Base

AREG welcomes the selection of the North East as strategic hub for £360m offshore wind operations, supporting long-term jobs and supply chain growth.

The Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group (AREG) is pleased to note the decision by the Bowdun offshore wind developers to locate their £360 million operations hub in the North East, as reported in Energy Voice.

This significant investment represents a strong vote of confidence in the North East’s capability and infrastructure to support large-scale renewable energy operations. It underscores the region’s strategic importance in the transition to net zero and aligns with our objective to foster local content, job creation, and supply chain growth in the offshore wind sector.

AREG believes that the Bowdun operations base will bring sustained economic activity, enhance cluster synergies, and deepen regional expertise in operations & maintenance, logistics, and support services. We judge this decision as a constructive step towards reinforcing the North East’s position as a centre of excellence for offshore renewables.

Jean Morrison, AREG chair, said, “AREG welcomes this investment as a positive and timely development for the North East region. This will anchor long-term jobs, strengthen the Scottish supply chain, and reinforce our position at the forefront of the energy transition. AREG commends the collaborative approach taken by Thistle Wind Partners and others, and we look forward to supporting the delivery of this strategically important project for Aberdeen and beyond.” 

We look forward to engaging with the Bowdun team, local authorities, and industry partners to ensure the full benefits of this development are realised for communities across the region.

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