Wind industry 'can provide a FTSE 100 firm'

BRITAIN'S fledgling offshore wind industry has the potential to create at least one FTSE 100 company, according to the chairman of a fast-growing energy group.
Steve Remp, executive chairman of SeaEnergy, made the forecast as he outlined plans to set up a services division to take advantage of government plans to turn Britain into the world's largest offshore wind market.SeaEnergy started life as oil services company Ramco, in the 1970s, and was at one point in the late 1990s the largest company on London's Alternative Investment Market.Since deciding to exit its oil and gas assets last year, the realigned wind farm business has won the right to develop the Moray Firth zone in conjunction with Portugal's EDP Renovaveis."I hope the services business will be put together this year. I'm working on it intently at the moment," Remp said.He added that China was also a key area of focus for the company, which prefers to develop wind farms in conjunction with big utility partners."The second largest offshore wind market to emerge hot on the heels of the UK will be China," he observed.Remp said the expected rapid growth of the industry could lead to the creation of one or more Footsie companies."Whether we'll be one of them I can't tell you," he added.The anticipated explosion of activity could see the offshore wind industry become the North Sea oil story of the 21st century, though Remp cautioned that government had a lot to do to ensure Britain made the most of the opportunity, rather than letting international firms steal a march as they did in the North Sea in the 1970s