Report reveals huge potential lying in offshore wind sector

The offshore wind sector in Scotland could provide enough power for more than six million homes if fully built out.

A new Regenerating Regions report released by Renewableuk at the start of Offshore Wind Week 2017 details a total of 15 offshore wind arrays in Scotland.

Four, including the Levenmouth demonstrator turbine in Fife, are already operating and have a collective capacity of 221MW.

A further two, including the Sse-led Beatrice scheme, are under construction while the remaining nine are consented or in planning.

The consented schemes include the construction-ready Neart na Gaoithe, the first phase of Seagreen’s Firth of Forth scheme and Inch Cape, which all lie off the coasts of Angus and Fife.

In total, Renewableuk says there is a potential for 7.6GW of offshore wind power production in Scottish waters, enough to power 6.3m households.

The report also focuses on technical innovation and highlights two Beatrice suppliers – Babcock International of Rosyth and Bifab of Burntisland – as examples of leading firms in the field.

“Innovative companies in Scotland are playing an important role in the UK’S world-leading offshore wind industry,” said Renewableuk CEO Hugh Mcneal.

Stephanie Conesa of Scottish Renewables said the economic impact of offshore wind was already being felt.

“Scotland is home to approximately 25 per cent of Europe’s offshore wind resource and we are now starting to build out projects which will harness this potential,” she said.

The report came as WWF Scotland hailed a “spectacular month” for the renewable energy sector north of the border in which wind turbine output equated to 99% of Scotland’s demand.

WWF Scotland’s Gina Hanrahan said: “Scotland’s renewable sector is thriving but to have continued growth of clean, cheap power the UK Government needs to allow onshore wind and solar to compete for contracts on a level playing field.”

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