Blade tester, Hydro Planner and Business Owner in Line for Top Awards

More than 30 young professionals who run small businesses, test the strength of wind turbine blades and much more are shortlisted for a prestigious award programme.

Peter Greaves’ research into the way 70m-long blades flex will allow the industry to reduce their weight, saving cost and in future making electricity from offshore wind farms cheaper.

He’s nominated in the Engineer category of Scottish Renewables’ Young Professionals Green Energy Awards, while Inverness plumber Lachlan McInnes, who founded his own firm after being made redundant aged just 25, is up for the Business Development Award.

The event, which will take place in Glasgow on May 26, was launched in 2015 to showcase the enormous range of fresh talent in the sector, and this year has a shortlist of 32.

Niall Stuart, Chief Executive of Scottish Renewables, said: “There are some incredibly capable and talented people working in Scotland’s renewable energy sector and the Young Professionals Green Energy Awards have been designed to recognise that.

“The quality and quantity of entries received this year were again particularly impressive. The fact that the people whose achievements are celebrated here are only at the start of their careers, and the calibre of the shortlisted nominees, promises well for the future.”