At least three Scottish ports need to be transformed into industrial hubs as soon as possible to enable the required roll-out of floating offshore wind - that’s the key message from a new report today.
The Floating Wind Offshore Wind Taskforce is recommending a £4bn investment to get ports ready for mass floating wind deployment by the end of this decade.
Its report essay that ideally a minimum of three to five ports will be needed in Scotland to install turbines onto their floating bases. Another two ports may be needed to service the Celtic Sea sector.
Meanwhile at least another four ports across the UK “will need to be revitalised for manufacturing massive steel and concrete components for floating foundations”.
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Alongside Scottish Renewables, the Taskforce includes the UK, Scottish and Welsh Governments, the Northern Ireland Executive, major offshore wind and port developers, the Crown Estate, Crown Estate Scotland, RenewableUK, the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult and other key stakeholders.
Emma Harrick, head of energy transition and supply chain at Scottish Renewables, said: “Time is of the essence and it is vital that The Scottish and UK Governments invest in Scotland’s ports to build the essential infrastructure we need to kickstart the floating offshore wind industry.
“The 14 floating wind projects announced as part of the ScotWind Leasing round mean Scotland has the most seabed dedicated to develop commercial floating wind anywhere in the world. This gives us a once in a lifetime opportunity to create a major new sector to drive the UK economy and Scotland’s ports are essential for the expansion of this emerging technology.
“The two Green Freeports in Scotland, Cromarty Firth and Forth Green Freeport, announced earlier this year, will help Scotland compete on the international stage as floating offshore wind grows to become the mainstay of electricity generation in the UK - but we urgently need further investment in other ports across Scotland.
“This will ensure we can meet our net-zero targets and deliver the energy security needed to allow the Scottish economy and local communities across the country to benefit from the fresh economic investment and regeneration opportunities which a home-grown clean energy supply brings.”
