Calum Davidson – who spent 30 years working for the development of the Highlands and Islands, latterly spearheading the local development agency’s work in the energy sector- has died.
Born and brought up in Thurso, Caithness, he later studied planning at Glasgow School of Art. He was aged 58 and is survived by his wife and three adult sons.
As Head of Knowledge Economy in the 2000s, he led a team that forged a close working relationship with a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) spin-off based in Dublin. This opened up opportunities to change how the agency and the region’s businesses viewed the global technology marketplace, where the constraints of geographic location could be overcome through technology.
As a witness to Scotland’s failure to benefit fully from developing its onshore wind potential during the oil and gas boom years of the 1980s and 90s, Davidson was determined that the Highlands and Islands should seize the day when it came to the emerging offshore renewables industry of the new century.
It was in the development of Scotland’s marine and offshore wind energy sectors that Davidson made his most significant contribution to the region he loved as a member of the Scottish Government’s Energy Advisory Board and on the board of the Brussels-based Ocean Energy Europe and the Westminster Marine Advisory Board.
Tim Cornelius of Atlantis Resources, the company behind the Meygen tidal project, commented: “Calum is one of the reasons why Scotland leads the world in tidal energy development. To be in this industry, you need to be resilient, tenacious, dedicated and determined. Combine that with humility and a heart the size of Scotland, and you have a pretty accurate description of him.”
26 Sept 2017
Pixie Energy is an incubator and a facilitator of strategic research and project work, focusing on energy regulation, policy and markets at the local and national level. Find out more about Pixie Energy