A major investment has been announced today by Forth Ports. This news means that parts of the huge turbines to be used in one of the biggest offshore wind projects in Scottish waters will be handled in Leith.
The company has secured its largest ever offshore wind contract and will invest £50 million in the port improving marine access, the infrastructure, plant and equipment which will be used to deliver the 1.1 gigawatt Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm.
Around 50 new green energy jobs will be created.
Forth Projects – Forth Ports’ in-house logistics division – will handle Inch Cape’s monopile and jacket foundations at the Port of Leith. The specialist pre-assembly and marshalling of the wind farm’s 72 turbines – comprising 72 nacelles, 216 blades and 72 towers – will be undertaken by Vestas in the Port of Dundee (Dundee was previously announced as a hub for Inch Cape in 2022).
The Leith Renewables Hub (LRH) is the re-development of a 175-acre site for offshore wind deployment and renewables manufacturing.
The hub’s heavy lift renewables berth capability of up to 100 tonnes per square metre (t/m2) which has been named the Charles Hammond berth was completed over the summer with the capability to accommodate the largest offshore vessels in the world.
The LRH is the proposed location for the Vestas blade manufacturing plant and also forms one of the strategically located tax sites within the Forth Green Freeport which opened for business in June 2024. Vestas have already indicated to the council their plans to use a 38.6 hectare site in Leith Docks to manufacture offshore wind turbine blades.
Inch Cape will lie off the Angus coast and the agreement between the port and wind farm will allow the use of the port’s facilities at newly created renewable energy hubs at both Leith and Dundee.
Deputy First Minister, Kate Forbes, said: “Investment in key sectors such as Scotland’s ports can reap rewards. This is why the Scottish Budget commits £150 million to the offshore wind infrastructure and supply – to attract private investment such as this announcement from Forth Ports.
“Supported by Forth Green Freeport incentives, the Leith Renewables Hub will bring well-paid green jobs and ensure Scotland is best placed to develop a world leading renewables sector while progressing to net zero.
“The Scottish Government’s Green Industrial Strategy identifies how we can work better, smarter and quicker to create an investor-friendly environment and seize the many opportunities for green growth which lie ahead. This is a great example of how this has been achieved.”
Today’s Leith announcement follows a decade of private investment, during which time Forth Ports has created the land, quayside and skills capacity, which has not previously existed in Scotland, to deliver very large offshore wind contracts.
Stuart Wallace, Chief Executive Officer, Forth Ports said: “Inch Cape represents a very significant milestone for Forth Ports as it is the largest offshore wind contract ever to be awarded to our business. When it goes live, Inch Cape will have a significant impact on Scotland’s energy transition as the country drives to achieve net zero carbon emissions.
“Our strategy is to create and build the renewables hubs ahead of market demand and we have achieved this in Dundee and Leith. Coupled with other specialist facilities delivered by Forth Projects, this creates an unrivalled prime position for Forth Ports to deliver large offshore wind projects.
“We have a clear vision and today we commit to investing a further £50million in Leith, from our own resources, to support Inch Cape and future renewables projects.”
David Webster, Commercial Director at Forth Ports, said: “Today’s announcement is a gamechanger for Forth Ports and the Scottish offshore wind market. We have created world class renewables hubs in Dundee and Leith and solved the challenge of local content by locating at ports near the construction sites, creating high quality local green jobs and local supply chains while securing work for future generations.”
John Hill, Inch Cape Project Director, said: “Through our substantial contract with Forth Ports, Inch Cape is pleased to be the catalyst for a major infrastructure investment that will not only benefit our own project but also those Scottish projects that are to follow. The utilisation of these two east coast ports – Leith and Dundee – for our offshore construction, will also facilitate significant opportunities with our Tier 1 contractors for the wider Scottish supply chain.”
This investment is the second phase of a vision for the 175 acre Leith Renewables Hub which forms part of the tax site within the Forth Green Freeport.
When completed by 2027 Inch Cape – which is one of the largest offshore wind farms in Scotland will have Vestas 15 megawatt turbines. At 274 metres high these are higher than Arthur’s Seat and while they are the tallest ever used in Scottish waters they will also be the most up to date.
The new onshore substation is already under construction on the brownfield site at the former Cockenzie Power Station in East Lothian.
Photos by Jamie Simpson/Forth Ports
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Photos by Jamie Simpson/Forth Ports
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