Rob Forrest

An election for the posts saw 20 eligible candidates enter the ballot, with a record turnout of 65% of the organisation’s 260 member companies voting.

Along with the high number of votes, the election process also saw a greater focus on gender diversity – a key objective in the elections.

Those appointed for full three-year terms are:

• Mike Hay, commercial director of RIDG Group, has been reappointed on the board for a full term after serving a one-year term. He has delivered a series of high profile, industry-enabling projects over his 16 years working in the offshore wind sector which have contributed significantly to the UK’s world-leading position.
• Clare Lavelle, head of energy consultancy at Arup, brings more than two decades of experience across the energy market. She has worked on a range of influential projects including consenting offshore wind farms, investing in marine renewable technologies and developing hydrogen for domestic heating.
• Adam Morrison, project director at EDP Renewables, re-joins the board after serving as a co-opted member in 2018. He has two decades of experience working across the industry including in offshore wind, onshore wind and wave and tidal.
• Kate Turner, policy and regulation director at ScottishPower Renewables, brings her experience in government energy policy, grid, planning, consenting and aviation for onshore and offshore renewables projects. She previously worked as a legal director for more than 20 years, specialising in renewable energy projects including wave and tidal, biomass and district heating.

Scottish Renewables’ board has also been strengthened with the addition of three co-opted members to support the organisation’s marine, planning and low-carbon heat work over the next year. They are:

• Jennifer Ballantyne, who leads Pinsent Masons’ energy & infrastructure team, brings around 20 years’ experience working across many renewable energy projects including onshore wind, offshore technologies, hydro, solar, bioenergy and storage and heat networks.
• Eoghan Maguire, director of Scotland and North UK at Vattenfall, joins the board for another year as a co-opted member. He has wide experience working across the low-carbon energy sector from heat networks, onshore and offshore wind, ocean energy, decentralised energy and energy markets.
• Andrew Mill, chair of the European Marine Energy Centre, is a graduate and Chartered Engineer, a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, and a Fellow of the Energy Institute. He has over 30 years’ experience of the energy industry, is a visiting Professor at University of Strathclyde and is also on the Board of the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult.

Rob Forrest, chair of Scottish Renewables, said: “It is great to see a record turnout of members engaging in what is a vital process for the proper governance of the organisation at a crucial time for all parts of our industry.

“I am delighted to welcome our new members to the board and feel confident that we have the right breadth of skills and technologies to set the priorities for our industry and represent our diverse membership in the coming year.

“It is crucial that the industry continues to work together to showcase Scotland’s renewable energy capabilities and sets out what still needs to be done in order to meet our net-zero targets.”