SOWEC appoints two new subgroup chairs to drive forward offshore wind

The Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council has appointed two senior industry figures to lead key strands of its work to drive progress in the offshore wind sector. Mark Baxter and Stewart McKinlay will chair the Developer forum and Skills subgroups respectively to continue the delivery of their programmes.  

Mark is currently project director at Ocean Winds, overseeing the developer’s ScotWind site, Caledonia. He began his career in environmental consultancy before moving into critical infrastructure projects in transport, grid and offshore wind, working on projects including Crossrail, Dogger Bank, and Moray East Offshore Windfarm.

Stewart is the skills director at the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS) - the trusted innovation and skills partner of the manufacturing industry, which leads on offshore wind for the High Value Manufacturing (HVM) Catapult. He has over two decades of experience developing the skills agenda in manufacturing, oil and gas, and engineering, and is also chair of Equate Scotland, the national body working for gender equality in the STEM sectors.

SOWEC was created to lead collaboration between the private and public sector to grow Scotland’s offshore wind market. It aims to deliver 11GW of fixed and floating offshore wind in Scottish waters by 2030.

Its Developer forum was established to focus SOWEC’s activity on the challenges facing developers and the material changes needed to overcome these. Its members work closely with other subgroups to ensure an industry lens is applied to the initiatives being delivered.

Mark Baxter comments: “As the sector grows, the number of projects facing the same challenges is only increasing. The forum is looking at what elements need derisked to allow projects to fully mature. We are also looking at ways we can work with the Scottish Government and other stakeholders to implement solutions and maintain Scotland’s global competitiveness. 

“There is huge potential for fixed and floating offshore wind in Scotland and our goal is to ensure this is realised.”

The Skills subgroup is focused on ensuring that companies across the supply chain can access the skills they need, both now and in the future. By working to understand industry demand, the subgroup is producing recommendations to develop capability and capacity within the sector’s talent pipeline. 

Stewart McKinlay comments: “Scotland’s offshore wind industry undoubtedly offers a wealth of opportunities, however, we need a more systems based approach if we are going to make informed decisions to effectively manage the sector’s skills challenge.

“The Skills subgroup is playing a key role in bringing developers, supply chain and public sector partners together to help shape that approach. Collaboration is crucial but it is essential that we start to move at pace or opportunities will be missed.”

SOWEC would like to express its thanks to former developer forum chair Gillian Noble and Skills subgroup chair Jim Brown for their hard work and commitment during their time with the groups.