Energy Businesses

The whole of Scotland, and in particular the Highland and Islands, has massive potential to generate energy from renewable sources. We are already world leaders in the field:

  • Wavegen’s Limpet device on Islay was the world’s first commercial scale wave energy device. 
  • The European Marine Energy Centre is the first facility in the world where designers can test wave energy devices. 
  • A new wave power station is set to be built in Siader on the Isle of Lewis, and there are a number of wind farms throughout the region. 

For more information on Renewable Energy in the Highlands and Islands, please visit the HI-energy website. People with a wide variety of STEM degrees are required to develop and manage these new facilities. Read on to find out more about the fields you could work in!

chillwind This company is based in Glenelg in Wester Ross and they produce meterological masts for windfarms to monitor wind and also noise. They can also help with installation of small scale wind systems for household. They employ 22 people - that is if you include the dog!

Bryan Rendall Electrical

This renewable energy and electrical engineering company based in Orkney design, supply and install small scale wind turbines for individual people or community projects but also multi megawatt offshore wind farms with locations stretching from California to Australia.  They also provide services to the marine energy industry, including high voltage design, installation, commissioning and operations. Read more on the HI-Energy website.

 

Balcas

Their Invergordon mill and power plant will open in summer 2009 and produce brites wood pellets that are renewable fuel for boilers and stoves. The wood pellets are made from wood residue produced as a by-product of the saw milling process.

 

 
Recently moved romo Alness to Inverness, AWS Ocean Power is a company that develop, commercialise and deliver technologies and services to the marine energy sector. They employ researchers, engineers and business people to help make marine energy a reality. Their lead product is the Archimedes Waveswing wave power system that will be rolled out in 2011. For a drawing of the Archimedes Waveswing and more information, click here. Examples of job opportunities with AWS include: Mechanical Engineer, Wave Power Systems Engineer, Electrical and Controls Engineer, Naval Architect, Simulation / Verification Engineer.
 
 
 
Would you like to work for a company who are at the forefront of research into marine renewable energy?
 
The European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) is located in Stromness in Orkney, and is the first centre of its kind to be created anywhere in the world. Orkney has uninterrupted Atlantic waves and some of the fastest tidal streams in Europe, making it an excellent location for marine renewables. EMEC provides a facility for testing devices that generate electricity for homes and businesses. The European Union is aiming to source 20% of Europe’s energy from renewable sources by 2020, and Scotland has a huge part to play in this.
 
EMEC employ people in a variety of areas of STEM, including engineers, technicians, researchers and a hydrodynamicist (hydrodynamics is the branch of physics dealing with forces and motion in fluids).
 
 
 
Wavegen developed the world’s first commercial scale wave energy device. The Limpet device is located in Islay, and produces energy for the national grid. Wavegen have their head offices in Inverness, and employ experts in wave energy technology such as engineers and scientists. The UK has the highest potential in the EU for converting wave energy to electricity, and Scotland, with its long Atlantic coast, is an excellent location for these projects. It is estimated that the energy that could be produced by the world’s oceans is equal to twice the amount of energy that the world produces now! Read on to find out more about this exciting new field! You can do a degree in Renewable Energy at many universities, including Dundee and Edinburgh.
 
 
 
Greenspace Research are based in Stornoway and are involved in designing buildings with low carbon footprints. They are expanding their renewable energy and built environment research group, based at UHI in Lews Castle College. In a society where environmental friendliness and reducing carbon footprints are of vital importance to businesses, this is an industry which is set to grow rapidly. They value people with a variety of STEM backgrounds, including engineering, applied maths, physics, and computing science.

 

Pelamis Wave Power

They are based in Edinburgh and have developed the Pelamis machine that uses wave power to generate energy (brochure and video). They tested their Pelamis generator prototype at the EMEC in 2004 and will return in 2010 with E.ON to connect the next generation Pelamis to the grid. They also supplied four Pelamis machines to ScottishPower Renewables at the Orcadian Wave Farm at EMEC.
 

Scottish and Southern Energy

They are the second largest electricity generator in the UK and Ireland, including gas, oil, coal and renewables. Names like Scottish Hydro Electric and Airtricity belong to them too. Have a look here to find out how many different jobs there are available with them, e.g. generation manager, electrician apprentice or energy systems performance manager.

Dounreay nuclear power plant was built to research and develop more efficient ways to generate electricity from uranium and plutonium.  A major project is now under way to decommission the site.  This involves dismantling the facilities, some of which require great care because of chemical and radiological hazards, as well as cleaning the ground to remove radioactive pollution. Decommissioning Dounreay is recognised internationally as one of the most complex nuclear clean-up challenges in the world. The work is being carried out by Dounreay Site Restoration Limited (DSRL) which employs approximately 1000 people. It sub-contracts work to 50 or so companies in the supply chain and this provides employment for a similar number of people.

The design team at Dounreay has developed a nuclear 'Terminator': Find out more in the BBC article from May 2009!

If you would like to find out more about Dounreay, you have three options:
- visit the public information centre in the town centre of Thurso, 7 Traill Street, phone 01847 806080 (opening times: Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm). The office displays information, exhibits and videos about the site closure programme and sells gifts such as history books about the site.
- visit the exhibition about the history and technology of Dounreay in Caithness Horizons, in the Old Town Hall. This is a free visitor centre that incorporates the town’s museum (opening times: Monday to Saturday 10am to 8pm, Saturday 11am to 4pm).
- download a visitor guide to Dounreay here

 

T3UK

This is one of the off-site companies that carry out testing of equipment before it is used at the Dounreay site. T3UK is part of JGC Engineering and Technical Services Ltd., a company that undertake many different kinds of engineering works. Examples are: manufacture of offshore sub-sea components, decommissioning of nuclear plant, ultrasonic inspection, Scaffolding, Pipework manufacture and installation.

 

BNS Nuclear Services

The company is part of the Babcock group and has a branch at Dounreay. It is an engineering and site services contractor - that means they find storage solutions for nuclear waste materials, help building nuclear production facilities and help in decommissioning programmes.
 
 
 
Nuvia is a nuclear specialist company, they build new power stations, operate and maintain them and also finally decommission them and deal with waste disposal. Apart from the offices in Thurso and at Dounreay, they also have four offices in England. Working for them, you could be a Fitter, Electician, Radiation Protection Advisor, Civil Engineer and more. They recruit graduates (have a look at some case studies) and also offer apprenticeships. 
 

Rolls Royce

Rolls Royce manage the Vulcan Shore Test Facility that is owned by the Ministry of Defence. The protoypes of reactor cores that the Royal Navy uses in their submarine fleet, are developed and tested here. It is also a training facility for nuclear submarine engineers. Rolls-Royce employ around 280 staff here, lead by a small team of staff from the Royal Navy.

 

Mackellar engineering Ltd. 

This subsea engineering company has its headquarters in Grantown on Spey and a design office in Aberdeen. They are the market leaders in design and manufacture of subsea equipment and work with Exxon, BP, Esso, Agip and Shell. One of their products are steel trees, that are fixed into the seabed and connect and support several oil pipes. They also produce Hydro Electric turbines and that shows how close the oil and gas industry and the Renewables industry are. Skills that you gain in the oil and gas sector are useful in the renewables industry too. With a little of re-training you should have no problem switching between the two sectors. They take on pupils for placements and as apprentices.

 

The Underwater Centre

This centre in Fort William is the world's leading commercial diver and ROV training centre. They offer qualifications in Air and Mixed Gas diver training, Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) courses and Assistant Life Support Technician (ALST) courses. The oil and gas industry is the single largest employer in the subsea sector. Find out more about becoming a diver or ROV pilot technician. 

 

Intech-Power

Based in Scabster, the company provide Support Services and Special Products to the Oil and Gas, Marine, Nuclear and Alternative Energy Industries. Part of the company specialises in the Architectural Design, Construction and outfitting of Accommodation modules for Offshore and Onshore Use. The nuclear division works with the UKAEA at Dounreay, providing a range of project management and engineering services.  They also have a renewable energy division on the shores of the Pentland Firth where they work with several marine energy developers on the installation and maintenance of wind, tidal and wave devices. For more information you can have a look at an article in the European Oil and Gas Magazine.

 

NES Engineering

The company is based in Thurso and they work in a variety of sectors on and offshore, for the Nuclear, Petrochemical and Renewable Energy. They design, fabricate pipelines, steel and plastic parts and also provide industrial painting, inspection repair and maintenance.

Renewable Energy

chillwind                                        Bryan Rendall Electrical             Balcas                                        AWS Ocean Power                    EMEC                                         Wavegen                                    Greenspace Research           Pelamis Wave Power             Scottish and Southern Energy

Nuclear Energy

DSRL                                             T3UK                                               BNS Nuclear Services                   Nuvia Ltd                                 Rolls-Royce

Oil and Gas

Mackellar Engineering Ltd          The Underwater Centre            Intech-Power                              NES Engineering