Wind forecast: there’s a powerful gust of optimism blowing south from Edinburgh, expected to reach London in mid-May. Alexander Quayle is a keynote speaker at the IMechE Wind Turbine User Group, and he’s travelling with a suitcase full of success stories about offshore wind projects.
Under his leadership, Flotation Energy recently secured a multibillion-pound, 15-year government contract for project Green Volt, putting it on track to become Europe’s largest floating wind farm by 2030. “With this success in hand, we’re really changing the landscape of the floating wind sector internationally,” says Quayle. “It’s creating a massive opportunity for the UK to lead the market globally as we look further offshore, into deeper waters.”
Believe in the fundamentals
At the event, starting on 14 May, Quayle will share his experience leading massive wind turbine projects such as Green Volt and Cenos, and discuss hurdles faced by the sector. He’ll reflect on the global mood around sustainable energy and deliver a key message: this moment, turbulent as it may be, offers an opportunity as much as a challenge.
“We’re going to see this transition [to clean, sustainable energy] speed up and slow down. But, like a big freight train, it will move and it will pick up speed. And when it does, we want to be ready.”
What makes him so sure? “This is one of those moments where you have to take a longer-term view and believe in the fundamentals.”
By fundamentals, Quayle means the reality of global warming (scientists say the planet just had its warmest January on record), the fact that energy mixes must change, and the inevitable return of demand and investment.
Quayle talks a lot about the power of fundamental knowledge and skills. It’s a belief forged over decades, starting with childhood days of “endless fascination” on
his grandparents’ farm.
Make things happen
Growing up in West Yorkshire, on the outskirts of the Dales, Quayle helped out on the family farm. Those years, he says, had a major impact on his life.
“On a farm, there are always things to be done,” he explains. “You never run out of jobs, and you have to prioritise them. Many things can’t wait for tomorrow. So you develop an itch to always be doing something productive. You learn to make things happen.”
At the time, making things happen meant fixing a tractor’s starter motor at midnight, doing emergency fence repairs or fixing some trinket he and his grandfather bought at a local car boot sale. Later, it meant joining a school electronics club and winning awards for his inventions. Later still, it meant embarking on an engineering career that involved four of the world’s top universities and more than a decade working at energy giant BP.
There was a bit of magic along the way, too. When he was young, Quayle staged magic shows for his cousins. Even then, he knew success required preparation (if you’re making a bouquet of flowers appear, he says, you have to have them hidden away somewhere) and careful management of focus – especially that of the audience.
Love what you learn
After finishing school, Quayle, the oldest of three children, became the first in his family to head to university. His mother worked as an English teacher – she helped spark his love of literature – while his father balanced books as an accountant. Quayle wanted to be an engineer and managed to secure a spot at the University of Oxford. His Engineering Science degree was tough but multidisciplinary, which he loved.
He completed his final year on exchange at Princeton, and after that came a Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering PhD at Cambridge. His doctorate involved researching and designing an ultra-low noise aircraft in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute
of Technology.
“The equations you apply for a spring, or a viscous flow, are the same equations you apply to a circuit board, an inductor or a capacitor,” he says. “Getting hands-on experience of that has been really impactful. It allows you to work across many domains.”
Less abracadabra, more planning
Quayle’s first chance to apply himself was in a start-up, but it wasn’t long before he joined BP to work at In Salah Gas, then the world’s largest carbon sequestration project and a big focus for the energy giant at the time. Later, his role involved exploring the evolution of green energy technology and the decarbonisation of gas pipeline operations. Quayle also gathered valuable experience in managing large-scale infrastructure projects.
In 2021, he moved from one of the world’s biggest energy companies back to a start-up.
Joining Flotation Energy, a company of eight people at the time, was a chance to make
things happen in the wind sector.
Quayle assumed the role of project director for the Green Volt and Cenos projects, securing seabed rights at auction and working with the board to launch them into a joint venture with Norwegian developer Vårgrønn. Investment during his tenure exceeded £100m. In September 2024, he led the Green Volt project through the CfD (Contract for Difference) auction process, securing a UK government contract to guarantee electricity sales for more than a decade.
Following this success, Quayle became technical director at Flotation Energy, extending his responsibilities across all projects. He has a passion for start-ups and has co-founded a separate investment company, Apollo, with 15 investments so far. Married with two children, he’s also recently been building model aeroplanes with his son and teaching him a few magic tricks.
“In the real world,” Quayle muses, “saying abracadabra doesn’t produce the results you want.”
So, the bigger lessons will come later: use the technical fundamentals you learn, apply your focus where it’s needed most, plan carefully and make things happen.
The Wind Turbine User Group offers attendees two days of technical content and knowledge sharing to support all engineers involved with wind turbine assets. Find out more and sign up.
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