Three new board members have been appointed to oversee the operation of Wave Hub, the offshore marine energy project in Cornwall.

Bill Russell takes on the role of chairman while Niamh Lamond and Richard Parkinson have been appointed as non-executive Directors.

Welcoming the appointments, Business Minister Mark Prisk said: “Wave Hub is a cornerstone of the Government’s commitment to encourage the generation of clean electricity from the power of the seas as part of our transition to a green economy. These appointments will help strengthen Wave Hub’s position by bringing a combination of commercial, technical and financial experience to the Board and ensuring this national asset plays a pivotal role in the commercialisation of marine energy in the UK.”

Bill Russell said: “Wave Hub is a strategically important asset not only in the South West but the whole of theUKand I am delighted to be taking up this appointment.  We are committed to ensuring that Wave Hub brings environmental and economic benefits to theUK by realising the full potential of marine renewable energy.”

Niamh Lamond said: “Cornwalland South West England have a growing reputation for innovation in renewable energy and Wave Hub is playing a key role in forging close links between industry, research and education as we develop our understanding of marine renewables. I’m delighted to be joining the board at this exciting time.”

Richard Parkinson said: “The industry is now moving into a new phase where the focus is on pre-commercial testing of arrays of devices. Wave Hub is currently the only installed facility for this scale of testing and is therefore groundbreaking in all sorts of ways. I look forward to bringing my experience of offshore deployments to the board and to help address the technical challenges of deploying, monitoring and maintaining wave energy devices.”

Notes to editors

1. Wave Hub consists of a giant ‘socket’ on the seabed connected to the national grid on shore by an underwater cable, into which wave energy devices can be ‘plugged’ and tested on a scale not seen anywhere before. The project has four berths available and a capacity of 20MW, equivalent to the electricity needs of more than 7,000 homes.
2. Wave Hub is publicly-owned by the UK Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) which has set up a stand-alone operating company, Wave Hub Limited, based in Hayle,Cornwall, to manage the day-to-day operation of the testing facility on its behalf.
3. Wave Hub is a £30 million construction project funded with £16.5 million from the European Regional Development Fund Convergence Programme and £13.5 million from the UK Government.
4. Wave Hub is a partner in the South West Marine Energy Park.
5. Bill Russell is a vastly experiencedCEO/managing director who has worked across international energy markets for a variety of large companies including National Grid. He was previously managing director of BritNed Development Limited, a privately owned joint venture company set up to operate the BritNed Interconnector which carries electricity between Great Britain and The Netherlands. His previous experience includes managing director of National GridAustraliaand a director of National GridUK.
6. Niamh Lamond is chief executive of Tremough Campus Services Group, the joint venture group of University College Falmouth and the University of Exeter, responsible for the development of Cornwall’s flagship university campus. Niamh’s previous experience includes director of finance and resources at University College Falmouth, and a number of other accountancy roles in industry and higher education. She is a member of the Higher Education Funding Council for England’s Leadership, Governance and Management Strategic Advisory Committee.
7. Richard Parkinson is managing director of Mojo Maritime based in Falmouth in Cornwall, a marine operations business which specialises in the installation of offshore renewable energy projects and consultancy services in subsea engineering design and risk management. A qualified Master Mariner, Richard has a wealth of experience in the maritime industry including recent involvement in a number of tidal energy installations and his previous experience includes a variety of roles supporting oil and gas exploration and terminal management in Africa and theMiddle East.
8. Following these new appointments, Nick Lewis, former deputy chief executive of the South West Regional Development Agency, will step down from the board.