Bidwells has hired two new partners and two senior industry consultants to its renewable energy team, as the firm seeks to strengthen its sustainability service.
The firm has also launched three core sustainability service areas, designed to bring together Bidwells’ business across Scotland and England and build on its forestry, energy and renewables sectors.
Andy Fewings has been appointed as a group partner in Bidwells. He was previously at Statkraft, where he was principal land manager at Europe’s largest generator of renewable energy. Prior to this, he was senior legal counsel at Element Power, focusing on UK wind and energy storage and Irish wind projects.
Fewings is followed by three hires from Scottish Power Renewables: Lesley Kelly; Christina Lamond; and Kirsty Gordon.
Kelly joined Bidwells this week as a divisional partner in the renewable energy team. She was previously land and estates manager at Scottish Power Renewables for over a decade.
Lamond, who has been appointed senior renewables consultant at Bidwells, was also at Scottish Power Renewables for over a decade.
Gordon is another senior consultant hired from Scottish Power Renewables. She has also worked with CBRE and FG Burnett as a surveyor.
Rosalind Clifford, partner and head of energy and renewables at Bidwells, said: “Our work across onshore wind, hydro, solar energy, and storage is growing fast, and these areas of expertise are increasingly not seen in isolation but as a fundamental part of delivering a climate positive future and ensuring investors’ portfolios of land and property deliver on their sustainability goals.
“Pension funds are now not only using Bidwells to manage their existing property and land use. They are asking us to identify the full ESG credentials and carbon impact of their entire portfolio of land and property, because they know we can pull in the range of specialist services they need.
“As the world tackles the climate challenge, the principles of sustainability and natural capital are transforming the face of investment, government policy, and therefore how land is managed and developed.”
Bidwells is providing 28 specialist services for forward-looking investors, developers, and landowners striving to meet their ESG goals. The services focus on carbon investment, biodiversity offsetting, carbon offsetting, peatland restoration, battery storage, solar energy, anaerobic digestion and gasification, and onshore wind farms.
Nick Pettit, senior partner at Bidwells, said: “We have been developing these specialisms over the past 18 months after noticing a significant change in the ESG-focused requirements of our clients. Their needs are changing fast – and our teams are developing rapidly too – so by building on our 30 years of experience in forestry and energy and renewables, we’re putting ourselves at the forefront of some of the UK’s most exciting markets.”
To send feedback, e-mail akanksha.soni@eg.co.uk or tweet @EGPropertyNews
