The Opportunity Cromarty Firth (OCF) consortium says its Green Freeport bid in the Scottish Highlands could create 25,000 jobs and over of £2500m new private sector investment in the UK’s green energy sector.
OCF has submitted what it described as a “compelling and logical” bid for Green Freeport status for the Inverness and Cromarty Firth area ahead of today’s deadline set for bids by ministers in London and Edinburgh.
The bid includes a proposed floating ‘super wind hub’ assembly and production facility.
Port of Cromarty Firth chief executive Bob Buskie speaking on behalf of OCF said: “We believe the impact of Green Freeport status would be transformational for the viability of projects the renewables industry needs to deliver and would be pivotal in attracting £2.5bn of new private sector investment.
“Central to that would be the establishment of the super wind hub facility on the firth, which would stimulate component manufacture in Scottish and UK ports, rather than this activity happening abroad.
“The Cromarty Firth is going to be at the very heart of the UK’s energy production map for many decades to come, in the way former coal mining areas were in the past and the north-east of Scotland has been with its key geographical role in the North Sea oil and gas industry.
“We have been working closely for more than two years with renewables developers, the supply chain and many other stakeholders to examine in detail what can be achieved locally and nationally through Green Freeport status in the Highlands.
“We are confident the result of that process is a compelling and logical bid.”
Port of Nigg owner Global Energy Group chair Roy MacGregor said: “The renewables industry is going to make a bigger, longer-term positive impact on the Highland economy than any other sector has, including our half century involvement with oil and gas.
“That industry knows this area can deliver the location, the facilities, the experience and ambition it needs.
“Green Freeport status, which will attract new investment and help nurture innovation, offers the key to ensuring this massive opportunity can be taken to its optimum level, for the benefit of the Highlands, Scotland and the UK.”
The OCF consortium, launched in 2020, includes the ports of Cromarty Firth, Nigg and Inverness and also Inverness Airport.
It is backed by Inverness Chamber of Commerce and more than a dozen businesses, as well as public sector organisations, and academic bodies, including The Highland Council and the University of the Highlands and Islands.