Nearly 4,000 people attended the opening day of Britain’s largest renewable-energy exhibition and conference in Aberdeen.
Organisers of All-Energy were delighted to welcome more than 3,800 delegates from around the globe through the doors yesterday; about 15% up on the first day of last year.
Project director Judith Patten said: “The feedback from everyone – visitors, exhibitors and speakers – has been remarkably positive.
“This is the ninth year of the show, which has become bigger every year, and it’s very exciting to be in an industry that is actually growing in this time of recession.”
In a presentation at All-Energy, Alistair Birnie, chief executive of industry body Subsea UK, told firms involved in marine renewables to learn from the experiences of the oil and gas supply chain when it came to reducing risks involved with new technology. He said that by engaging with the subsea oil and gas supply chain, the marine renewable industry could save time and money and reduce impact on safety and the environment.
Mr Birnie added: “The oil and gas industry is considered to be highly risk-averse which, given the environment in which it operates and the ground-breaking, highly sophisticated technology it deploys, is on the face of it surprising, however, the reason for this is that the oil and gas industry has developed proven, mature processes that objectively measure risk and apply processes to minimise the potential negative impact of new technology.”
He highlighted newly introduced standards in oil and gas which built on decades of work on processes for managing the risk of new technology and how they derived these from lessons learned in the military and, in some cases, Nasa. Subsea UK has been calling for greater collaboration between the subsea oil and gas and the renewable-energy industries so that the UK can become a world leader in marine renewables.
Scottish Energy Minister Jim Mather told All-Energy that the safe capture and storage of harmful emissions was a prerequisite for a safe and sustainable world.
He said: “Earlier this month, the first minister launched the findings of the first comprehensive study of carbon capture and storage (CCS) to be undertaken in the UK; research supported by the Scottish Government.
“The report signals a milestone in Scotland’s energy policy, underlining just how Scotland can be at the vanguard of this vital technology. We have unparalleled storage potential in the North Sea, serious candidates for demonstrators in Scotland and skills in our industry and universities to make this happen soon. The next step is to publish a roadmap setting out the key milestones for the development of CCS in Scotland. This is due to be published in the summer.”
It was announced yesterday that the head of ITI Energy is to lead the development of the new Scottish European Green Energy Centre, due to open in Aberdeen later this year. Duncan Botting has been named executive chairman.
Mr Mather said: “Our ambition is to shape European energy policy. The centre will put Scotland at the heart of European research, development and deployment of low-carbon energy technologies, such as carbon capture and marine energy. With Duncan’s experience and enthusiasm, I have no doubt it will be a soaring success and help make Scotland the green energy capital of Europe.”
Mr Botting said: “The initiative fits in well with the work of ITI Energy.”
All-Energy features more than 370 exhibitors from 13 countries. Among companies with stands is Hydro Group, of Aberdeen, a global provider of optical and electrical products. It launched a new product yesterday: the Hydro Bond renewable connector for data, power and signal transmission.
Today is the second and final day of All-Energy, held at Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre.
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