Burns & McDonnell is to provide engineering and construction services to electricity network operators and renewable energy developers in Scotland following the opening of a new office in Motherwell.
The global engineering-led construction firm is to deliver substation projects and support the modernisation of Scotland’s power grid, helping to ensure that energy generated by new renewable sources in Scotland reliably powers homes and businesses across the UK.
Wind deployment is continuing across Scotland, with 17 offshore wind projects – of which ten are floating wind – offered option agreements as part of ScotWind leasing earlier this year.
However, trade body Scottish Renewables has called for reforms to the planning process to enable greater onshore and offshore wind capacity, while Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks has called for reforms to the Transmission Network Use of System charges.
Two initial key hires have been made for the Scottish team: Ryan Carroll as senior design manager and Stephen Docherty as senior civil engineer.
Carroll is therefore to help lead engineering design projects, while Docherty is to help lead civil and structural engineering projects.
Meanwhile, Scott Bryce is to lead construction operations in the new office and help expand the team in Scotland to support work on what the company said is a “growing pipeline of projects”.
The new office is the company’s third in the UK, having opening its first European office in Birmingham in 2017 and another in London this year. The firm currently has over 50 UK employees.
Last year, Burns & McDonnell’s UK managing director, Jonathan Chapman, detailed how the need for flexibility is becoming more pressing as renewable energy capacity continues to grow apace in the UK in a guest blog for Current±.