SOWEC appoints two new subgroup chairs

The Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council (SOWEC) has appointed Mark Baxter and Stewart McKinlay to chair its developer forum and skills subgroups, respectively, as part of its mission to expand Scotland's offshore wind sector.

Mark Baxter, project director at Ocean Winds, will lead the developer forum. Mark brings extensive experience from environmental consultancy and major infrastructure projects, including Crossrail, Dogger Bank and Moray East Offshore Windfarm. He now oversees Ocean Winds' ScotWind project, Caledonia.

Mark said: “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, skills director at the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland (NMIS), will chair the skills subgroup. With over 20 years’ experience in manufacturing and engineering, Stewart has played a pivotal role in shaping skills agendas across multiple sectors. He is also the chair of Equate Scotland, driving gender equality in STEM fields.

Stewart added: “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, a collaborative body uniting public and private sectors, aims to deliver 11GW of fixed and floating offshore wind capacity in Scottish waters by 2030.

These appointments will strengthen the Council’s ability to address developer challenges and foster skills development critical to achieving Scotland's renewable energy ambitions.

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