Companies urged to register for offshore wind opportunities

Supply chain companies in the renewable energy sector are being encouraged to register their details for advanced notice of potential contracts related to a major offshore wind project in Argyll.

The call comes after a ‘well attended, lively and engaging’ supply chain event held last week at the Scottish Association of Marine Science (SAMS) in the European Marine Science Park, Dunstaffnage near Oban.

Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and Argyll and Bute Council hosted the event, which was organised by the DeepWind Cluster in partnership with ScottishPower Renewables.

The purpose of the day was to share information about upcoming opportunities relating to the MachairWind project being developed west of Islay, and to showcase the expertise among local businesses available to support the project.

Developer, ScottishPower Renewables, shared information about the project, what the supply chains needs will be, and how local companies might benefit.

Around 100 people attended, representing supply chain businesses working in the marine economy, manufacturers, and fabricators, as well as businesses working in logistics, civils and property. As well as businesses from Argyll and the Islands there was also representation from further afield.

MachairWind is ScottishPower’s first offshore windfarm off the coast of Argyll. It has a proposed generating capacity of 2GW, which is enough clean, green electricity to power the equivalent of more than two million homes across the UK. This is expected to make a significant contribution to achieving Scotland’s and the UK’s net zero targets.

Morag Goodfellow, HIE area manager for Argyll and the Islands, said:

“The MachairWind project is a major opportunity for Argyll and the Islands. there’ll be many local contractors in the supply chain who are well placed to benefit from this. This in turn will strengthen rural employment and community resilience.

“That’s why we hosted this event. It was very well attended, lively and engaging, which was great to see. ScottishPower Renewables provided lots of information about the MachairWind project, its timeline and requirements. There was plenty input from supply chain companies focusing on the expertise that’s available to support the project’s development.

“The next stage is for companies to register with the project web portal, so they can tap into the opportunities as and when they arise. That’s what we’re encouraging companies to do as soon as they can.”

Keira Wilson ScottishPower Renewable’s senior project manager for the MachairWind project, said:

“It was fantastic to attend the West Coast Supply Chain Event in Dunstaffnage last week and to see so much interest in MachairWind.

“It was great to get a better understanding of how the skills, capabilities and experience across the Scottish supply chain fit with what’s required for our first offshore windfarm in Argyll and Bute.”

Companies can register on the SPR offshore wind web page