The team

Douglas manages Shetland Islands Council’s new Future Energy service, which is tasked with identifying pathways for Shetland to switch from fossil fuel dependency into cleaner forms of energy use. This work emphasises the Just Transition aspects to ensure that the Shetland community has access to secure, affordable energy and shares the economic benefits from future clean energy developments that take place in and around the islands. Douglas is the Council’s lead officer in the ORION project team. He has worked for the Council for 35 years, and for most of that time he managed the Economic Development and Business Development services.

Net Zero Technology Centre purpose is to develop and deploy technology to deliver a net zero North Sea. We work cross-sector to maximise the potential of an integrated offshore energy system with a vision to reimagine the North Sea. As we transition to this new energy future, we must address the full cycle sustainability of the system. As such our team are supporting the ORION project with the identification and development of technologies that can be replicated across multiple energy hubs.

Highlands and Islands Enterprise have a number of team members that are involved in the ORION project. Katrina Wiseman Area Manager and George Irvine Senior Development Manager all sit on the Project Team. Audrey MacIver Director of Energy and Low Carbon sits on the ORION Board. Key staff are involved through raising the profile through the DeepWind project, providing supply chain development and also inward investor relationships support, making connections between ORION and other businesses and industries, and working closely with key clients and partners on exploring future skills requirements and how to fill those gaps. HIE also have client relationships with businesses and organisations that will be key to the future supply chain for ORION and will be working closely with them to ensure that they can respond to opportunities as they arise. HIE’s Energy and Low Carbon team provide sector-based expertise to the ORION project team in a wide range of areas creating key linkages to national initiatives and raising the profile of the project amongst key stakeholders at a national level.

Willie Reid is Director of the University of Strathclyde Offshore Energy Transition Programme where he is responsible for strategic and operational development.

He is a member of the board of ORION and works closely with ORION partners and the relevant Strathclyde team members who help to bring scale, pace, and experience to the technical and commercial development of the Renewable Energy Hub on the Shetland Islands.

Willie has 40 years of experience in upstream oil and gas services, downstream process industries, and clean technology development. Previous roles include international CEO, Managing Director, business management, and technical positions with Gas2 (co-founder), Servo BV, Lubrizol, Exxon, Nalco, and Shell. He has also consulted for both operators and their supply chain.

He is a member and past Chairman of Aurora Private Equity and is past Chair of the North of Scotland Knowledge Transfer Partnership.

He is a graduate of Aberdeen University, holds an MBA from Henley Management College, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

As Chief Executive of Lerwick Port Authority, Captain Calum Grains has overall responsibility for the organisation, including strategic and business development, leading on operational and technical aspects of major capital investment at the Shetland port, and investigating and implementing its contribution to cleaner energy use.

He was a Harbour Pilot at Lerwick from 1997-2000 before leaving to take his Master’s ticket. Captain Grains returned to the Authority as Deputy Harbourmaster in 2003, was promoted Harbourmaster in 2007 and became Deputy Chief Executive in 2014 and Chief Executive four years later.

An Executive Board Member of the Port Authority and a board-nominated director to various companies.