Andrew Jamieson has been appointed CEO of the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult. He joins the Catapult from ScottishPower Renewables where he was Policy and Innovation Director.
As CEO of the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult, Jamieson will be responsible for delivering the short and long term objectives of the Catapult, including recruitment of the Catapult team and delivering a robust business plan. The business plan includes key milestones around helping grow the industry and reducing the cost of generating energy from offshore wind and showing how this can be extended to wave and tidal energy sources.
The new Catapult will accelerate the development of technologies applicable to offshore wind, tidal and wave power to commercial success. It will do this by bringing together knowledge, expertise and state of the art facilities to help UK businesses innovate and so reduce the cost of offshore renewable energy sources. The Catapult and UK businesses will work together to reduce the technical, financial and operational risk associated with bringing profitable products and services to market.
Jamieson brings over 30 years experience in the Energy sector to the Catapult. His most recent role was that of Chairman of the Government-Industry Offshore Wind Cost Reduction Task Force that published a report setting out a series of actions and possible solutions to the challenge of reducing the cost of offshore wind by at least 25% by 2020. He is also currently the Chairman of the trade body for the UK wind and marine renewables trade body, RenewableUK.
He joined ScottishPower in 1988 and held various positions within the company including engineering, marketing, institutional relations and finance. In 2004 he joined the renewables business at ScottishPower where he was responsible for energy policy and regulation.
The new CEO of the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult, Andrew Jamieson said: “The UK offers huge investment potential in the offshore wind, wave and tidal generation industries. With the right nurturing we can build a thriving manufacturing and service industry right here on our doorstep employing thousands of people.
“I am delighted to be invited to be the CEO of the new Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult. We will work closely with industry large and small, academia, enterprises and Government to ensure we identify, create and commercialise the best technological and innovation solutions to serve our offshore generation industries, grow UK based supply chains, and help them prosper for many years to come.”
Ian Gray, Chief Executive of the Technology Strategy Board said:
“We are delighted that Andrew has joined us at this important stage of establishing the Catapult. He has demonstrated leadership qualities throughout his career and brings considerable knowledge of renewable energies found offshore that will help lead the Catapult team.”
The Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult is part of a network of world-leading innovation centres established and overseen by the Technology Strategy Board as a long-term investment that will open up global opportunities for the UK and generate economic growth for the future.
The Catapult will be a national resource with its Headquarters in Glasgow’s International Technology and Renewable Energy Zone and an operational facility located at Narec’s site in Blyth, Northumberland. The Catapult aims to open next year. It will also build strong links with centres of excellence, such as the European Marine Energy Centre, Wave Hub, and the marine energy parks in the South West of England and Scotland.