Scotland could be 'global hub' for floating wind technology says project director behind innovative scheme off Caithness coast

THE new project director at the company behind a floating wind development off the Caithness coast is hoping to make Scotland "a global hub" for the innovative technology.

Nicholas Ritchie, who took up his role with the Ørsted, Falck Renewables, BlueFloat Energy consortium at the start of the month, is confident the Stromar floating wind initiative, 50 kilometres east of Wick, will be a success and help give a boost to the industry.

Mr Ritchie, who was born and raised in Scotland, spent more than 20 years working around the world in the oil and gas sector. He said: "Working on such an innovative project and helping Scotland lead the way in floating wind during the energy transition is very important to me. My dedicated team is made up of the best talent from Ørsted, BlueFloat Energy and Falck Renewables who will be working hard to make Stromar a success while helping develop Scotland into a global hub for floating offshore wind technology."

Before joining the Stromar team, he was responsible for Ørsted’s global engineering portfolio and procurement of offshore transmission systems.

Richard Dibley, managing director of Falck Renewables Wind Ltd, said: "We are delighted to welcome Nicholas to head up the Stromar team. His career to date which has successfully transitioned from oil and gas to renewables is a blueprint for how a Scottish workforce can reskill to take advantage of offshore wind. His experience and knowledge will be crucial to delivering this ambitious project and ensuring that the benefits of floating offshore wind are shared with the Scottish economy, supply chain and communities."

Carlos Martin, the chief executive of BlueFloat Energy, said: "Nicholas’ appointment marks the start of delivering floating offshore wind developments at a scale which will really make a difference to Scotland. His expertise leading the Stromar team will allow us to maximise the huge potential of the Scottish coastline to deliver the secure supply of clean energy crucial to a net zero future for Scotland."

The Stromar floating wind project has a seabed lease agreed with Crown Estate Scotland for up to 1gigawatt.

Falck Renewables develops, designs, builds and manages power production plants from renewable sources, with an installed capacity of 1420 megawatts in the United Kingdom, Italy, United States, Spain, France, Norway and Sweden.

Ørsted develops, constructs, and operates offshore and onshore wind farms, solar farms, energy storage facilities, and bioenergy plants while BlueFloat Energy is developing offshore wind projects in various regions of the world.

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