A joint venture (JV) of BlueFloat Energy (BlueFloat), Energy Estate and Elemental Group are delighted to announce the appointment of Nathan Turner as Country Manager for the partnership based in New Zealand. In his new role Nathan will oversee the JV’s plans to develop up to 5GW of offshore wind energy projects in Aotearoa.

Starting his new role in November Nathan joins the consortium from Transpower where he was Planning, Scheduling and Optimisation Manager responsible for managing major capital investment programmes to upgrade the grid and new connections. Nathan brings with him extensive international experience in the energy sector particularly in developing new strategies to enable the energy transition towards a net-zero future.

Prior to joining Transpower Nathan was the General Manager for Shell Energy New Markets in Asia. Based in Singapore, he started new energy businesses in the Philippines and Malaysia and developed Shell’s power growth strategy in Asia incorporating the New Energies and Trading divisions. In this role he worked closely with Shell’s New Energies team to assess opportunities in renewable power generation in Asia, including offshore wind, and their potential future integration into existing local energy systems.

Before joining Shell, Nathan held management positions at QGC, formerly part of the BG Group before being acquired by Shell in 2016. In these roles Nathan had responsibility for JV, customer and commercial relationships and interacting with government and regulators.

Nathan is a qualified commercial solicitor who spent the early part of his career with international law firm King and Wood, Mallesons based in Brisbane predominantly working on M&A transactions, asset sales, corporate governance and commercial litigation in the materials and energy sectors.

BlueFloat Chief Executive Carlos Martin said:

“We are delighted to have someone of Nathan’s calibre on our team. He has extensive experience in the energy sector and a track record of implementing complex large-scale infrastructure investments that have required him to work closely with indigenous peoples, governments, regulators, JV partners and customers to deliver integrated, strategic energy solutions.”

Simon Currie, Energy Estate Co-Founder said:

“New Zealand is now on an accelerated pathway to a clean energy industrial future. Nathan brings to the role of Country Manager the right balance of skills and experience from the energy sector that will be extremely valuable to our partnership.

“Our approach to developing offshore wind in Aotearoa is to focus on true partnerships and delivering enduring benefits to all stakeholders.”

Nick Jackson, Director of New Plymouth based Elemental Group said:

“We are really excited to welcome Nathan onboard and strengthening the local team on the ground. Nathan has fantastic experience and expertise which will benefit the whole team and we are all looking forward to working alongside him. Offshore wind presents a fantastic opportunity for Aotearoa and we are delighted to have Nathan with us to help guide us through these important early stages as we begin to develop the sector.”

Commenting on his appointment Nathan said:

”New Zealand is blessed with a world class offshore wind resource and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to leverage this to accelerate the decarbonisation of New Zealand’s energy system whilst providing opportunities for the diversification of New Zealand’s economy.”

-ENDS-

For more information contact Bianca Ruakere, Offshore Wind Communications Manager on 021 453189.

About the JV

Blue Float Energy are a leading global offshore wind developer with a global portfolio of projects in development. In New Zealand they have joined with Energy Estate – a zero emissions independent energy producer and local partners Elemental Group who are headquartered in New Plymouth to develop offshore wind opportunities in Waikato, Taranaki and Southland with the potential to generate up to 5GW of power.

About BlueFloat Energy 

BlueFloat Energy is developing offshore wind projects in various regions of the world, where it can implement its vision: to accelerate global deployment of offshore wind as a key enabler for the energy transition and economic growth. Founded by renewable energy professionals, BlueFloat Energy brings together remarkable team expertise in the design, development, financing, construction and execution of offshore wind projects. 

For more information please visit: https://bluefloat.wpengine.com    

About Energy Estate 

Energy Estate’s mission is to accelerate the transformation of the energy sector and the decarbonisation of industry. We are developing and accelerating a portfolio of renewable energy, storage and green hydrogen projects in Australia, NZ, the US and other markets. A key driver for Energy Estate is supporting the communities in which we operate and delivering enduring outcomes for all stakeholders including landowners, workers and indigenous/First Nations people. We believe in the reindustrialisation of industrial communities with low-carbon solutions.  

For more information please visit: http://energyestate.com 

About Elemental Group

Elemental Group is an international energy developer and consultancy headquartered in New Plymouth, dedicated to providing better energy outcomes for our clients.  We deliver world class solutions for a world in energy transition, ranging from remote Pacific Island communities to major cities. We aim to create enduring benefits for people and place.  We are diverse, smart, hard-working and innovative, with services across science, engineering, environment, project management and finance. 

For more information please visit: https://elementalgroup.com