GWEC appoints Adam Bruce as first Senior Fellow to support global work delivering the rapid upscale of wind energy deployment

13 March, 2024, Lisbon | GWEC is delighted to announce Adam Bruce’s appointment as its first ever Senior Fellow. The role will see Adam bring his deep knowledge of renewable energy and climate diplomacy to support GWEC’s global team, working to support companies, communities and governments as they deliver wind energy projects across the globe.

From his role as UK CEO of Airtricity, where he oversaw the development of the UK’s earliest onshore and large-scale offshore sites, to his time at SSE as Head of Sustainable Development through to his work at Mainstream Renewable Power, Adam has built up more than 15 years of experience of delivering projects that deliver on wind energy’s potential.

GWEC is focused on emerging and expanding markets across the world. Adam’s unique experience in growth markets and expertise in regulation, policy and development, allied with a career built on removing barriers and setting clear pathways for delivery, strengthens GWEC’s work as we enter an era of action following the tripling renewables pledge at COP28 in Dubai. 

Ben Backwell, CEO of the Global Wind Energy Council, said: “It is a privilege to welcome Adam Bruce to the GWEC team. This decade will be marked by a rapid acceleration in wind energy deployment around the world and having Adam’s experience and knowledge to support our work with governments and institutions will be enormously valuable. 

“Adam has been on the GWEC board since 2016, and became Vice-Chair in 2022. His support at board level has been invaluable, and we’re delighted to bring his knowledge more directly to our work around the world.”

Adam Bruce, GWEC Senior Fellow, said: “I am delighted to be taking on this new role with GWEC, to help accelerate the deployment of wind energy globally, by sharing some of the experiences I have garnered over the last two decades. The global industry has been set a clear target of tripling installed capacity, and I am keen to help deliver on that goal.”

Further Details: 

Adam Bruce is currently vice-Chair and Senior Fellow of the Global Wind Energy Council.

Adam was UK CEO of Airtricity before its sale to SSE in 2008. In that role he led a team that consented and built some of the UK’s first onshore wind farms and consented one of the first large-scale offshore wind farms.. 

Adam chaired RenewableUK, the UK’s trade association for renewable energy from 2007 to 2010, helping to lead the industry through two Energy White Papers, the EMR process and the deployment of offshore wind at scale. At the same time, he was Chair or vice-Chair of three EU renewable energy and grid trade bodies.

After SSE’s acquisition of Airtricity in 2008, Adam joined the utility to help with the integration of the two companies, acting as Head of Sustainable Development at SSE. In late 2008 he joined the management team of the newly formed Mainstream Renewable Power, as Global Head of Corporate Affairs, a role he maintained until 2023.

As a member of Mainstream’s ExCo, Adam advised the CEO and the Board on geopolitical and regulatory risk, market reform and sustainability as well as brand and reputation. 

In 2013, Adam was appointed by UK and Scottish Ministers as the first industry chair of the Offshore Wind Programme Board, set up to remove barriers to investment in offshore wind, and to (successfully) chart a course to the delivery of low-cost offshore wind at scale in UK waters. He joined the Board of GWEC in 2016 and became its vice-Chair in 2022. Adam was also a member of the steering board of the International Renewable Energy Association (IRENA) Coalition for Action, and of the RE100, set up to encourage large-scale corporate sourcing of renewable energy.

Adam is a member of the development board of Oxford University’s Maths, Physics and Life Sciences Division, and of the University’s Energy Network. He is a Trustee of the National Museums of Scotland, and a member of the Royal Household in Scotland, in which role he helped organise the lying at rest of the late Queen Elizabeth II, and the Presentation of the Honours of Scotland to King Charles III in Edinburgh in July 2023.

Adam has an MA (Hons) in History from Oxford University, where he was President of the Union, and an LLB in Law from the University of Edinburgh. 

Adam is married and lives in Edinburgh.