Riding the winds of change in Scottish waters

It’s now been five months since I joined Scottish Renewables, and to say a lot has happened around the offshore wind sector in Scotland in that time is something of an understatement!

Just some of these activities and events include: 

• First power for Moray West Offshore Wind Farm 
• Consents for Pentland and Green Volt Floating Offshore Wind Farms 
• Continued substantial progress being made by more than 20 project teams in the development stage of ScotWind and INTOG leasing rounds projects, including onshore planning permission for the West of Orkney Wind Farm 
• Investment plans published by the Electricity System Operator (ESO) for future energy systems to connect more than 30GW of offshore wind in Scottish waters by 2035. 

Highly significant ports and supply chain announcements include: 

• Development at the Port of Nigg for Sumitomo to develop a cable manufacturing facility  
• Significant investment at Ardersier Port, including £100m from SNIB and UKIB, to develop their facilities 
• Progress for the Port of Cromarty Firth through the UK Government’s Floating Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Scheme (FLOWMIS) funding process 
• Partnership reached between HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Scottish enterprise agencies. 

Perhaps the most significant single event to add to the above occurred at the start of July when a new Labour Government was voted into power with a landslide majority. Whilst we are only a few weeks into the new administration, we are already seeing very encouraging signs on net-zero and economic growth collaboration. 

That collaboration and strategic co-ordination will be key to supporting the delivery of Scotland’s offshore wind pipeline which is vital for the UK to achieve its 2050 net-zero goal and to ensure the substantial economic and supply chain benefits of both fixed and floating offshore wind development in Scotland are realised. 

The appointment of Chris Stark, former Chief Executive of the Climate Change Committee, to the new role of Head of Mission Control for Clean Power 2030 is also a very welcome signal of confidence in that regard. 

Against this backdrop, however, offshore wind developers continue to weigh up the risk profile of moving projects through the development process and assess how this impacts spend decisions. Some of the requirements for offshore wind projects to ultimately move to construction and operation include: 

• Securing planning consent(s) for the project; 
• Being able to connect the project to grid; 
• Having sufficient confidence in the anticipated return they will get on the project; and 
• Knowing supply chain will be in place to build the project. 

Scottish Renewables is working hard to support progress in these areas, such as leading the Barriers to Deployment Groups and co-ordinated workstreams as part of the Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council (SOWEC). 

However, the reality is that more progress needs to be made, and faster, to ensure that the overall risk profile of developing offshore wind does not reach a point whereby it deters further investment. With a new UK Government going for growth, now is the time to address the risks and enable the development of offshore wind in Scotland and associated infrastructure, such as ports and harbours. 

Immediately on the horizon is the opportunity to increase the budget for Allocation Round 6 to ensure consented projects can move into delivery at pace. With Scottish projects facing disproportionately higher grid connection charges than other parts of the UK, it is particularly important that these projects are not left behind when Contracts for Difference (CfDs) are awarded. 

By enabling the steady drumbeat of deployment of our impressive pipeline, including the chance to lead the world in deploying floating offshore wind at scale, we will not only make vital progress towards net-zero but shore up the enormous economic benefits for our own supply chains.

So, whilst a lot has happened in the past five months, I am more optimistic than ever that further progress can be made moving forward to ensure the conditions are in place to fully maximise the unrivalled opportunity for offshore wind to be the cornerstone of a modern, dynamic and growing Scottish economy. 

With the scale of the task in sight and the importance of tackling the climate emergency ever present, Scottish Renewables will continue to advocate for the immediate coordinated action and long-term strategic planning we need. 

The winds of change they are a-blowin'! 

• Blog by Colin Palmer, Director of Offshore