Bustling offshore wind sector boosts Scots SMEs

A busy year for offshore wind in Scotland is highlighted in a new edition of Scottish Renewables’ Supply Chain Impact report, launched today (Feb 11).

The document spotlights 21 companies, from Dumfriesshire to Orkney, working on offshore renewable energy projects in Scotland, England, the EU and further afield.

They include:

• Leask Marine, an Orkney marine services company which is at the forefront of the offshore wind industry, working on more than 22 offshore wind farms across Europe and, from 2019, North America.
• Drone services provider Aerial Vision, of Lanark, which had another busy year after being drafted in to inspect Equinor’s turbines off the coast of south east England.
• Global Energy Group, which has invested £90 million to develop a world-class port facility at Port of Nigg in the Cromarty Firth – with more to come.
• Glasgow firm Partrac, whose specialist buoys, known as ‘fitbits of the sea’, measure sea conditions at the Neart na Gaoithe (NnG) project. The company has grown from a team of just three to 20 after using its foothold on NnG to secure more offshore wind work.

The case studies in the document represent just a snapshot of the offshore wind sector’s activity in Scotland as projects like Beatrice, the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre in Aberdeen Bay and Neart na Gaoithe build out and begin to generate power.

Also included in the publication is a section focusing on the growing range of support organisations which have been set up to make supply chain businesses more competitive in this global industry. They include the Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council and the DeepWind and Forth and Tay Offshore clusters, which bring together developers, SMEs, enterprise agencies, local authorities, government and trade bodies like Scottish Renewables.

Scottish Renewables Chief Executive Claire Mack said:

“The growing number of businesses involved in the offshore wind sector in Scotland demonstrate just the tip of the iceberg of what the future holds.

“From TV production to weather forecasting and health and safety, businesses of all sizes and all sectors have a role to play as we develop our truly remarkable offshore wind resource.

“With the help of organisations like the Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council and the two offshore wind clusters the stage is set for companies working in this space to succeed on projects not just in Scotland and the rest of the UK, but across the world as other economies seek to decarbonise their energy systems.”

Publication of the Supply Chain Impact report was supported by EDF Renewables and SSE Renewables.

Ryanne Burges, EDF Renewables’ Head of Offshore Wind Development, said:

“It’s a really exciting time for the renewables sector in Scotland and I’m confident that even more Scottish companies can play a big part in supporting delivery of the NnG project.

“The Scottish supply chain is vital to the construction of the project and last year we held a series of events across Scotland to highlight potential opportunities available to the local supply chain. 

“Although we intend to host more events like these, Scottish suppliers are already playing a key role in the construction of NnG and I’m really pleased that we are able to highlight this with support from Scottish Renewables.”

SSE Renewables’ Head of Projects, Offshore Renewables, Brian McFarlane, said:

“It is really good to see so many success stories across the supply chain based in Scotland for our sector included in this snapshot report.

“At SSE Renewables we are committed to maximising opportunities for the domestic supply chain on our projects, such as Seagreen which we are currently building. We also work closely with key industry groups to help encourage new entrants and expansion into new offshore wind markets for existing enterprises of all scales.”

Ends

Notes:​

1. Scottish Renewables’ Supply Chain Impact report is available here.
2. The companies and organisations featured in the report include: Aerial Vision, Briggs Marine, Dekra, Eden Scott, First Subsea, Fraserburgh Harbour, Gibb Safety, Global Energy Group, Green Marine, Halo Communications, Leask Marine, Merrick Training, Montrose Bag Company, Partrac, Pict Offshore, Port of Cromarty Firth, Rigmar, Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council, Shepherd & Wederburn, Stormgeo, TVP Film & Multimedia & Utility ROV Services.
3. The previous (first) edition of this document, which spans 2018-19, is available on Scottish Renewables’ website.