Venterra company INSPIRE Environmental expands into Scotland to support UK and European offshore wind growth

Monday 9 March, London, UK: INSPIRE Environmental, part of Venterra Group, has established a permanent operational base in Aberdeen, strengthening the UK and Europe’s access to high‑quality, regulator‑ready marine environmental evidence. The move positions INSPIRE at the centre of Europe’s busiest offshore energy hub and supports rapid mobilisation across Scotland, the wider UK and Europe. It also represents a long‑term commitment to local delivery, with plans to build a team of around 30 specialists by 2030.

As Venterra’s environmental experts, INSPIRE supports offshore infrastructure across the full lifecycle, from early survey and consenting through to construction and long-term monitoring. Its integrated offering spans benthic and fisheries science, underwater acoustics, Nature‑Based Design, and advanced data services – all focused on keeping projects moving through clear, proportionate and defensible evidence.

A defining strength is the company’s ability to combine world-leading Sediment Profile Imaging/Plan View (SPI/PV) with conventional and non-extractive methods to generate high-quality, proportionate datasets aligned with government expectations and evolving guidance. Although used extensively in the U.S. for decades, SPI/PV is only now gaining wider recognition in the UK and Europe as regulators shift toward more fit‑for‑purpose benthic evidence. The method provides non‑extractive, high‑resolution seafloor data in near real time, enabling faster sampling, adaptive responses to unexpected conditions, and lower overall survey costs. Bringing this technology and expertise to more markets at scale gives developers a powerful new option for accelerating consenting and reducing environmental uncertainty.

INSPIRE’s expansion comes at a pivotal moment for the UK market. Scotland is preparing for large-scale build-out under ScotWind and INTOG and has refreshed benthic survey guidance, signalling a clear expectation for proportionate, fit-for-purpose evidence. At the same time, the UK Government’s AR7 auction awarded a record 8.4 GW of offshore wind capacity, accelerating a pipeline where success will increasingly depend not only on price, but on environmental performance, consenting confidence, and local delivery.

Policy is also tightening around underwater noise and marine mammal protection, with JNCC (Joint Nature Conservation Committee) mitigation guidance embedded in the consenting process. INSPIRE’s physics-based acoustic modelling and integrated survey approach help developers design and implement effective mitigation from the outset. More broadly, its science-led approach, combining environmental data, acoustics, and Nature-Based Design, supports installation, mitigation, and end-of-life strategies that work with natural processes and align with emerging expectations, including Marine Net Gain.

Jeanine Boyle, Managing Director of INSPIRE Environmental, said:

We’re not just opening an office in Aberdeen, we’re investing in Scotland’s offshore wind future. That means new jobs and bringing cutting-edge science that helps developers do more: cost-efficient surveys, stronger evidence for consenting, and clearer communication with the public. By combining advanced imaging, fisheries science, acoustics, and Nature-Based Design, we’re helping projects work with nature from the start, and that’s what will define the next generation of offshore wind.

Since 2009, INSPIRE has supported more than 27 GW of offshore wind globally. In the U.S., the company has worked on over half of all offshore wind projects, delivering some of the most comprehensive monitoring programmes in the industry, including long‑running benthic and fisheries studies at Block Island and end‑to‑end environmental support at South Fork Wind.

INSPIRE’s Aberdeen base is co-located with fellow Venterra company Oceanscan, enabling onsite equipment management, maintenance, and rapid deployment. This strengthens Venterra Group’s coordinated offering across environmental science and marine data services.

Annie Murphy, Senior Director and Head of UK at INSPIRE Environmental, added:

By being in Aberdeen, our team is well-positioned to collaborate more closely with local industry and regulatory partners, efficiently mobilise for offshore survey work, and contribute directly to Scotland’s offshore wind supply chain. We’re bringing our full toolkit for benthic and fisheries surveys, state-of-the-art marine acoustic modelling, and advanced data analytics, to provide the best possible data to inform the development of sustainable and responsible offshore energy projects. That means cost-effective, defensible science that stands up to scrutiny and provides the foundation for Nature-Based Design. Together with Oceanscan and the broader Venterra Group, we aim to achieve meaningful environmental outcomes at scale.

Media Enquiries:

Stiofain MacDaibhead,

Group Director of Communications

Venterra

+353 86 3298700

stiofain.macdaibhead@venterra-group.com