Operating globally from a hub in Orkney, off the north coast of Scotland, Aquatera provides environmental expertise and operational support for offshore, coastal and land-based activities. Our clients range from multinational corporations and national governments to individuals and community groups and we operate in more than 30 countries. We take a multi-disciplinary approach to projects, supporting clients from planning right through to delivery and decommissioning. Our flexible business model, which draws on a wide network of associates and delivery partners, enables us to respond to clients’ needs whoever and wherever they are. We are agents in delivering sustainable development. Whether we are helping developers to assess environmental impacts, to plan for and manage them; advising on cable, pipeline or shipping routes; or assisting communities to achieve energy security or to conserve their heritage, we deploy our skills and expertise to further our clients’ interests and the wider sustainable development goal. We are committed to decarbonising energy generation and facilitating energy security. This commitment is manifested by our involvement in innovative hydrogen storage projects, our support for emerging technologies like wave and tidal power and through projects in countries as diverse and Chile, Japan and Kazakhstan, all tackling issues of energy security and the development of 21st century energy infrastructure.
Contact person: Jennifer Fox jennifer.fox@aquatera.co.uk
Website: http://www.aquatera.co.uk/
Role of AQUATERA in COLUMBUS
Competence Node Leader for Marine Physical Resources. Providing support to Competence Node for Marine Governance and Management. Participating across the project in Work Packages 2 to 6.
Profile of staff engaged in the project:
Ian Hutchison (Director of Operations at Aquatera Ltd.) joined Aquatera in 2007 and has acted as the Consents Manager and Licence Agent for a number of deployments at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC). This involved the production of a number of Environmental Assessments, HRAs, Decommissioning Plans and Environmental Mitigation and Monitoring Plans, requiring consultation and negotiation with regulators, agencies and stakeholders. As the Consents Manager, Ian was responsible for the implementation and delivery of the EMMPs and discharge of consent conditions. Now a Director at Aquatera, he leads the Company’s input into a number of strategic initiatives focussed on better understanding, managing risk and reducing uncertainty around the potential impacts of wave and tidal energy projects on the marine environment. This has included recent work for the Scottish Government and The Crown Estate in the UK as well as international bodies such as the US Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Ian is currently engaged in a number of EIAs and HRAs for proposed demonstration and commercial scale wave and tidal developments within the Pentland Firth and Orkney Waters (PFOW) Strategic Area, often involving the development of bespoke solutions and regular consultation with regulators, advisors and other key stakeholders. Ian currently sits on the European Commission’s Ocean Energy Environment and Consenting Workstream Steering Group and is the Secretariat Project Manager for the UK’s Offshore Renewables Joint Industry Programme (ORJIP) for Ocean Energy.
Natalia Rojas (Consultant, Renewable Energy) has a degree in Civil Engineering and an MSc in Marine Renewables. Natalia brings knowledge and expertise in engineering to the Aquatera Team. Prior to joining Aquatera in 2013, Natalia developed various projects related high roads drainage, river channellings and hydrology and hydraulic modelling for an engineering and architecture group in Spain. She has also worked as a site manager and been in charge of various coastal constructions, leading teams of more than 30 people. She was tasked with managing the construction of a 3km coastal promenade for the Spanish Government, demolition works and various national trails. Since shifting her focus to marine renewables, she has had the opportunity to work for Marine Scotland installing radars for the measurements of waves in the North Sea. Natalia's is keen to expand her experience and knowledge to support the marine renewable energy sector around the world.
Jennifer Fox (Consultant, Renewable Energy) completed her BSc in Zoology in University College Dublin in 2011, and then moved to Bangor, Wales in order to study for her MSc in Marine Biology in the School of Ocean Science. She then went on to work with the Fisheries and Conservation Science Group in Bangor University. This work involved stock assessments of all inshore fisheries on the Welsh coast including European lobster, brown crab, common whelks and sea bass. Jennifer gained experience in all aspects of analysis of the commercial fishing industry- in the field, the lab through to the analysis and report production. When this project was completed, Jennifer moved to Inverness in order to take up a role as Assistant Manager for the Moray Firth Partnership. Through this role, she gained experience in working with the Inshore Fisheries Groups and Marine Scotland to promote integrated coastal zone management in the Moray Firth area. Jennifer joined Aquatera in May 2015 as a Consultant.
