An investment of around £150 million in the offshore wind industry is announced by The Scottish Government on Thursday.
This is the second year the government has invested in the sector and is supported by £12.5 million of resource funding.
The government believes this investment will support thousands of “well paid green jobs” in Scotland over the next ten years, and has confirmed a commitment in the recent budget to establish an offshore wind hub in the north east of Scotland. This will offer an additional route for industry to engage with policy teams.
The government says it will invest up to £500 million over five years which is expected to unlock opportunities for growth in a range of businesses from ports, manufacturing and assembly work to supply chains. The Scottish Government’s Green Industrial Strategy highlighted wind as one of the five priority areas for growth and investment.
Acting Net Zero and Energy Secretary Gillian Martin said: “Accelerating Scotland’s offshore wind capabilities presents enormous economic opportunities for our country.
“Our vast resources provide us with significant opportunity to create thousands of well-paid, green jobs across Scotland while accelerating our journey to net zero. We must maximise the economic benefits from offshore wind deployment if we are to ensure a just transition that takes our existing skilled workforce and supply chain with us.
“This significant investment will help boost innovation and expertise in the sector, create a highly productive and competitive economy and deliver a sustainable supply chain that will benefit all of Scotland for decades to come.
“We will work with industry and public sector partners to ensure we identify and deliver the best projects at pace.”
Claire Mack, Chief Executive of Scottish Renewables, said: “The renewable energy industry is pleased that the Scottish Government will increase the next tranche of its funding commitment to the offshore wind supply chain. It is also encouraging to see the revenues from ScotWind directly utilised for clean industrial growth.
“We will work closely with the Scottish Government to help shape how this funding can be used as part of the wider investment landscape in order to secure the flow of significant private capital into the infrastructure that will help Scotland optimise the opportunity brought by offshore wind.”
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