Seven businesses from northern Scotland and Orkney have been selected for the first Fit For Offshore Renewables (F4OR) programme in the region.
ORE Catapult’s F4OR supply chain growth programme will be supported by £125,000 from West of Orkney wind farm and will take companies 12-18 months to complete.
The seven selected companies are Ocean Kinetics (Kirkwall, Orkney), Orcades Marine Management Consultants (Kirkwall, Orkney), Leask Marine (Kirkwall, Orkney), Aquaterra (Stromness, Orkney), Berkshire Engineering (Wick, Caithness), Imenco UK (Wick, Caithness) and Serimax UK (Evanton, Easter Ross).
The chosen companies come from a wide range of sectors including engineering, marine renewables, offshore operations and maintenance, and subsea monitoring.
The F4OR programme has been designed alongside offshore wind industry experts with a focus on giving businesses the skills and expertise to deliver success in the offshore renewables sector.
It has experienced widespread success across the UK since it started in 2019.
Stuart McAuley, West of Orkney wind farm Project Director, said: “We’ve been engaging with businesses and organisations in the north of Scotland for a number of years.
“Although construction of ScotWind projects will not ramp up fully for a few years, early engagement with the local supply chain is critical.
“Participation in this F4OR programme will equip forward-looking firms with the attributes they need to compete successfully for future contracts.”
Iain Taylor, manufacturing site manager, Imenco UK Ltd based in Wick said: “We are very excited to be part of the F4OR programme since we have identified the renewables market as a strategic target to strengthen and grow our business.
“The F4OR programme has already proven of benefit to companies getting ready to secure work in this market and we are looking forward to being part of it for Caithness, Sutherland and Orkney.”
West of Orkney remains on track to start construction in 2027, with first power scheduled for 2029.
It has engaged in a £105m investment initiative during the development phase of the project to develop the supply chain that is planned to be enhanced to £140m by match funding from third parties.