SgurrEnergy sets its sights on the lucrative US renewable energy market

6 April 2009

April is an exciting month for SgurrEnergy as we announce the official opening of our first American office in Boston, Massachusetts.

Project and engineering management expert Jim Tolan will head the US operation where he has been appointed president of SgurrEnergy LLC.  The Boston base will provide expertise in all renewable energy technologies across the US including wind – both onshore and offshore – solar, bioenergy, wave and tidal energy systems. 

Tolan has over 25 years experience working on energy projects globally where he was involved with power plant design, engineering and management.  Most recently he was project director leading a United Nations Development Programme-backed wind-diesel scheme constructed on San Cristobal in the Galapagos Islands.  This project has picked up a number of awards.  SgurrEnergy co-founder and technical director Ian Irvine was a technical adviser on the project.

US President Barack Obama’s recent economic stimulus package – the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 – has a large focus on energy efficiency and renewable energy.

Tolan said: “President Obama’s economic stimulus package of $787 billion includes many initiatives for energy research, a smart grid, clean coal and carbon sequestration as well as energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. Approximately $70 billion of the programs outlined in the Act are related to these initiatives.”

“It is anticipated that this package, together with the President’s green energy strategy, will lead to a sustained period of growth in the renewable energy sector in the US. It is therefore a perfect time for SgurrEnergy to open an office in the US and offer its expertise to service this rapidly expanding sector.”

SgurrEnergy co-founder and technical director Irvine added: “The decision to open an office in Boston was primarily taken so we would be better able to serve SgurrEnergy’s existing North American clients. However, given the rapidly expanding renewable energy sector in the US we believe it will become a key market for the company in its own right in the long term.

“In particular, SgurrEnergy anticipates strong demand for our expertise in offshore wind – a sector that is very much in its infancy in the US compared to Europe but one in which we expect to witness significant growth over the next few years.

“Boston was chosen as the base for SgurrEnergy’s US operation as we saw the city as a complimentary location to the Vancouver office. As the US operation grows, we will consider additional office locations to better service our client base in the country.”

 

 

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