MEMBER NEWS: Petrofac strengthens new Energy Services team with offshore wind appointment

January 12, 2022
MEMBER NEWS: Petrofac strengthens new Energy Services team with offshore wind appointment

Petrofac, a leading international service provider to the energy industry, is supporting the continued growth of its global offering in the wind sector with a senior operational appointment.

New head of Wind Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Phaedra Pritchard will be responsible for building and supporting Petrofac’s O&M service capability within the offshore wind sector, both in the UK and globally. Formerly of Semco Maritime, Phaedra brings more than 14 years’ industry experience and has a varied background in O&M, project management, and business support roles.

Petrofac has a 10-year track record in offshore wind, and currently 3,000 of its UK personnel support the operations and maintenance of clients’ offshore offshore energy assets. Phaedra will be based in Grimsby, recognising the growth in around Humber and Yorkshire in offshore wind and growing demand for Petrofac’s capabilities in this area.

The UK government has committed to install 40GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030, four times current capacity. According to RenewableUK, this target could see offshore wind meeting half of the UK’s electricity needs in the same time period, meaning the sector will be a major driver of the energy transition.

John Pearson, COO, Petrofac New Energy Services, said: “We have been deploying our expertise in support of renewable energy projects since 2008 and our teams are expertly placed to leverage this experience and help advance the energy transition.

“Working alongside our O&M team, Phaedra will play a key role in leveraging our existing strengths and capabilities to grow our presence in the offshore wind market. Not only does she have a wealth of industry experience, but her extensive knowledge of working in the sector means that she is perfectly positioned to help support our goals for the region and beyond.”

Petrofac has an extensive track record in the design and fabrication of offshore wind substations, and in 2020 was appointed to design, supply and install the High Voltage Alternating Current (HVAC) onshore and offshore substations for the Seagreen offshore wind farm project in Scotland. It is expanding its new and renewable energy portfolio further, recently announcing contract awards and strategic partnerships to support Carbon Capture and Storage, Hydrogen, and waste to value projects in the UK and internationally.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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