
To date, OST’s French team has supported the development and operations of a combined 500 MW of wind and solar energy.
OST Energy (OST), a technical advisor for global renewable energy projects, has announced a new Paris location in support of the growth of its French wind and solar operations. Alongside the move, the business has also recruited experienced wind specialist, Jean-Pierre Callens, as its new Head of Wind for France.
This regional expansion comes as OST seeks to enhance its technical due diligence and investment advisory service proposition for the French wind sector.
French wind continues to experience healthy growth, with a strong construction pipeline that has seen around 1 GW of new capacity added each year for the past 10 years.
As this market has matured, there has been a steady increase in the number of secondary investments and acquisitions taking place. In turn, this has driven demand for investor advisory services and technical due diligence for the fund community. Furthermore, as many French developers look to Francophone countries in Africa for new opportunities, demand is also growing for domestic advisors to support activities overseas.
OST’s French operation is headed by Fabrice Aymat, Country Manager for France, who joined OST in 2014, following a career at GDF SUEZ, now Engie, and a number of years spent working as an independent consultant. Aymat will be supported by new Head of Wind, Jean-Pierre Callens, and three further OST consultants in Paris as they begin work on a growing pipeline of new wind and solar projects.
“While new wind energy construction has slowed in parts of Europe, there is still a large domestic demand for technical due diligence and advisory services as the fund community looks for secure and stable secondary assets,” said Fabrice Aymat, Country Manager, OST France.
He added: “Onshore wind construction in France is likely to continue at pace until the mid-2020s. Simultaneously, ambitious French firms are developing projects in Africa and further afield and turning to the experience of domestic consultants to help them manage market-specific technical, logistical and contractual risks throughout the lifetime of their assets.”
Jean-Pierre has 15 years of experience working in the wind energy sector. Prior to joining OST, he started out as a wind analyst in the UK market, before leading independent engineering teams conducting Technical Due Diligence and Owner’s Engineering work throughout France. To date, Jean-Pierre has advised on more than 10GW of wind projects in Europe and North Africa.
Jean-Pierre Callens, OST’s newly-appointed Head of Wind for France, commented: “OST’s reputation for leading technical advisory in the French market is growing rapidly, following the work the business has been undertaking worldwide in onshore wind and solar over the past eight years. I welcome the opportunity to help drive this growth as we support French wind and solar developers, both at home and overseas.”
OST Energy has an expanding global presence, employing a growing team of over 120 renewable energy experts spread across offices in the UK, Italy, France, South Africa, the U.S., Australia, and India. The firm has worked on over 1,000 renewable energy projects in more than 50 countries across the globe.
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