HIGHLANDS and Islands Enterprise (HIE) is pleased to announce the appointment of Tim Hurst as managing director of Wave Energy Scotland (WES).
WES aims to support and accelerate the development of wave energy technology through a series of competitive technology calls.
Wave Energy Scotland is a subsidiary of HIE and it was set up in December 2014 at the request of the Scottish Government.
WES is fully funded by the Scottish Government and has a budget of £14.3m until the end of the financial year in 2016.
Alex Paterson, chief executive of HIE, commented:
“We are delighted to announce the appointment of Tim Hurst as managing director of Wave Energy Scotland.
“Tim has a wide range of experience in the offshore renewables sector having previously led on that work for HIE.
“We’re confident Tim has the ambition and the energy to lead WES at a hugely challenging time in the sector.
“But this is also a time of great opportunity for the wave energy sector and WES is taking a fresh approach to resolve the issues which have so far prevented the cost effective generation of wave energy.”
Scottish Energy Minister, Fergus Ewing, said:
“I welcome today’s announcement of the new managing director for Wave Energy Scotland (WES). The appointment of Tim Hurst is an important milestone in the further development of WES.
“In Scotland we have great natural marine resources, backed up with considerable expertise across industry, academia and public sector partners.
“The year ahead will be challenging and we have high expectations for the five calls which WES will launch this year.
“However, I have every confidence that WES will deliver great results from these calls and I look forward to continuing to work with Tim and his team.”
Tim Hurst, MD, Wave Energy Scotland, commented:
“There are always significant challenges in the development of new technology and the wave energy sector is no different.
“What Wave Energy Scotland seeks to do is to learn lessons from the sector to date, but also to draw on the experience from a range of other industries which will help us produce engineering solutions for the cost effective and reliable generation of wave energy.
“Our aim, ultimately, is to create the conditions which will allow the private investors to re- enter the sector and take it through to commercialisation.
“There is already considerable interest in what we’re doing given the contact we’ve had from a range of businesses based in the UK, Europe and North America.
“The competitive call process is already underway and it will give interested parties an opportunity be part of the future of the wave energy sector.
“Where I don’t underestimate the complexities of developing the right sort of technology for the wave energy sector, I am confident the WES approach presents the best opportunity to produce results.”
Note to editors
Biography Tim Hurst, managing director, Wave Energy Scotland
Tim is a chartered electrical engineer with a background in operations management and project management in a variety of engineering environments.
After 16 years as an RAF engineer officer, Tim joined Synergie Scotland as a senior project manager working on the design and construction of large renewable energy projects, including the construction of the EMEC test sites.
In 2010, Tim moved to the Scottish European Green Energy Centre (SEGEC) where he worked to develop innovative Scottish energy projects that could be funded from European programmes and that supported Scotland’s long-term energy objectives.
Tim joined HIE as head of Offshore Industry Development in 2013.
He was the lead contact for HIE on a pan-Scottish group of agencies including government, industry and key stakeholders, to plan and develop next generation test and demonstration facilities for the offshore renewable sector, with a particular focus on offshore wind.
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Highlands and Islands Enterprise contact details…
Contact: HIE Communications
Phone: 01463244238
Email: communications@hient.co.uk
Website: http://www.waveenergyscotland.com
