Floating offshore wind partnership behind Caithness venture appoints new managing director
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An offshore wind power partnership which is developing a wind farm off the coast of Caithness has appointed a new managing director.
Susie Lind took the helm at the Falck Renewables/BlueFloat Energy partnership in October.
The group was set up to develop floating offshore wind projects in the UK, and Ms Lind will be based in her native Edinburgh.
It is behind the Stromar floating wind project being developed off the coast of Caithness in partnership with Ørsted as part of the ScotWind leasing round earlier this year. Stromar will be located off the coast of Caithness, around 50km east of Wick, and has a seabed lease agreed with Crown Estate Scotland for up to 1GW.
Elsewhere in Scotland, Falck Renewables and BlueFloat Energy are jointly developing two floating offshore wind projects off the east coast. Situated east of Aberdeen, Bellrock has a seabed lease for up to 1.2GW. Broadshore will be north of Fraserburgh and originally had a seabed lease agreed for up to 500MW, now increased to 900MW after the plans for the turbine layout were reworked using larger, more efficient wind turbines.
The partnership has also submitted applications to Crown Estate Scotland for the INTOG leasing round and is developing two projects in the Celtic Sea.
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Ms Lind began her career in corporate law before moving to the energy sector in 2010, where she led legal teams and business units across the UK. She was elected as a director of trade association Scottish Renewables in 2019 and has just completed a three-year term.
“The potential for floating offshore wind in the UK is huge and I’m immensely excited to be joining the Falck Renewables/BlueFloat Energy partnership at a time of great opportunity to really make a difference,” she said.
“I’m absolutely delighted my new role has a strong focus on the positive impact floating offshore wind will have on the future prosperity of the UK. Working with a talented team with the insight and experience to deliver a bold vision of a secure supply of renewable energy, I know we can benefit businesses and communities, acting as catalyst for economic growth and regeneration and providing satisfying jobs for many generations to come.”
Thibault Desclée de Maredsous, vice president Europe of BlueFloat Energy, said: “We are delighted to welcome Susie to head up a team of experts who together will deliver floating offshore wind at scale, helping to make the UK a centre of excellence for the new technology.”
Richard Britton, head of global offshore wind at Falck Renewables, said: “Bringing someone of Susie’s calibre on board demonstrates our commitment to delivering renewable energy in the UK. Under her leadership and supported by a growing team, our floating wind projects will make a considerable contribution to achieving government net zero targets while ensuring communities, the environment and the supply chain share in the benefits.”
In the Celtic Sea the partnership has plans for two floating offshore wind farms – Llywelyn and Petroc – off the coast of Wales and Cornwall.
