The offshore renewables industry and public sector on Scotland’s east coast are working closely together to accelerate and expand the growth of the regional supply chain.
Participating councils in the new Forth and Tay Offshore cluster are Angus, Dundee City, Fife, Perth and Kinross, East Lothian and Scottish Borders with support from SSE, EDF Renewables and Red Rock Power.
The hub will run a series of activities designed to support innovation, collaboration, investment in skills and market awareness, while also promoting existing supply chain capabilities in the region.
The public-private sector collaboration is part of the UK Government’s offshore wind sector deal, which set a goal, back in March, for the industry to generate 30% of the UK’s power needs by 2030.
The Forth and Tay cluster will be home to offshore wind projects and initiatives, including SSE’s 1.5GW Seagreen wind farm complex, Red Rock’s 700MW Inch Cape, EDF Renewables’ 448MW Neart na Gaoithe, ORE Catapult’s 7MW Levenmouth demonstration turbine as well as the Scotwind leasing round sites off the east coast.
The hub will work in tandem with other industries, including oil and gas, where Forth and Tay Decommissioning recently announced an integrated, end-to-end service for North Sea oil and gas decommissioning which is strategically positioned at the Port of Dundee.
A series of business breakfasts throughout the east coast of Scotland are planned to kickstart the cluster’s engagement, starting 18 September in North Queensferry.
Fife councillor Altany Craik said: “This is an excellent opportunity for the east of Scotland consortium to promote the area as the destination of choice for new investments in the UK offshore energy supply chain.
“With a world-leading supply chain and coastal infrastructure, Forth and Tay Offshore is well positioned to meet the full lifecycle needs of the offshore renewables sector.”
Scottish Enterprise low carbon head Andy McDonald added: “Scotland’s offshore wind sector continues to go from strength to strength, with two major projects beginning construction, three participating in this year’s Contracts for Difference auction, and multiple new sites being offered via the ScotWind leasing round.”
According to MacDonald the new hub is well placed to service not only Scotland’s growing offshore wind pipeline, but also other projects planned for the rest of the UK and Europe.
“The clusters are an ideal route for the Scottish supply chain to tap into innovation, collaboration and skills development opportunities, so I’d encourage any interested company to come along to the business breakfasts to learn how they can become part of Scotland’s offshore wind success story,” he said.