AREG calls on Energy Secretary Fahnbulleh to meet Aberdeen's renewables companies

The Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group has formally invited Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh to return to Aberdeen and meet the city's renewables companies, urging closer collaboration between industry and government^[1].

The call comes roughly two weeks after Fahnbulleh made Aberdeen her first official stop as Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero - a role she took on when Prime Minister Andy Burnham reshuffled his cabinet in late July 2026. Her 23 July visit centred on a meeting with Offshore Energies UK and a tour of Port of Aberdeen's South Harbour, where discussions focused on oil and gas jobs and the managed transition^[1].

The gap AREG wants to close

AREG's invitation signals that the renewables supply chain felt largely absent from that first engagement. AREG is a not-for-profit organisation established in 2003 that now counts more than 270 member organisations, spanning offshore wind developers, supply chain companies, researchers and policymakers across North East Scotland and the wider UK. Its explicit mission is to connect those members to policy and market opportunities - and a new Energy Secretary represents exactly the kind of opening the group was built to exploit.

The timing matters. The UK's Clean Power 2030 plan requires between 43 GW and 50 GW of offshore wind capacity, against an installed base of roughly 16 GW at the end of 2025. Only 1.2 GW of new offshore wind capacity was added in 2025, meaning the pace of deployment will need to accelerate sharply to stay on track. Aberdeen's supply chain - engineering firms, port operators, logistics providers, digital technology companies - sits at the centre of that build-out.

Aberdeen's institutional weight

The city's claim on the Energy Secretary's diary is not merely geographic. Great British Energy confirmed Aberdeen's Marischal Square development as its permanent headquarters on 12 February 2026, anchoring the state-owned clean energy company in the same city that AREG's members call home. That decision was intended to signal that the government sees Aberdeen as central to the energy transition, not just to the legacy oil and gas sector.

Fahnbulleh's own public remarks after the July visit acknowledged that oil and gas "will be part of our energy mix for years to come" while stressing the need to sustain and create well-paid jobs. Industry reaction was mixed: some welcomed the speed of her visit; others noted she was not made available for media interviews and offered no firm commitments on field approvals or transition support.

What AREG is asking for

AREG's invitation is framed around direct access - getting the Secretary of State in front of the companies that are building the infrastructure the government's own targets depend on. The group has a track record of brokering exactly this kind of engagement: its Energy Futures conference series has previously drawn Scottish cabinet ministers, and its networks span communications, professional services, supply chain and young professionals.

The ask is straightforward: a follow-up visit that goes beyond the oil and gas lobby and puts renewables firms in the room.

What to watch

Whether Fahnbulleh accepts will be an early indicator of how she intends to balance the competing demands on her brief. A second Aberdeen trip focused on renewables would reinforce the government's Clean Power 2030 narrative; declining or delaying risks the perception that the transition agenda is subordinate to managing North Sea decline. AREG's Hydrogen Scotland Conference is scheduled for 6 October 2026 in Glasgow - a natural near-term opportunity for the Secretary of State to engage the broader clean energy supply chain if an Aberdeen visit does not materialise first.