Working together is key to unlock the region’s potential
HIE’s Inner Moray Firth area manager, Audrey MacIver, shares her thoughts ahead of this year’s Highland Business Dinner on the region’s growing role in driving Scotland’s energy transition and wider economic opportunity.
“Working together is key to unlock the region’s potential” says Highland Business Dinner principal sponsor, HIE
I strongly believe in the value of close engagement with businesses and the role collaboration plays in driving sustainable growth and supporting job creation.
Each year, the Highland Business Dinner provides an important forum for partnership, investment and shared progress, offering the opportunity to reflect on what has been achieved and to look at what lies ahead.
Over the past year, we’ve seen developments across the Inner Moray Firth that have the potential to shape the economic future of the Highlands and Islands for decades to come.
Here in the Inner Moray Firth, we are seeing the region play an increasingly important role in Scotland’s transition to a net zero economy. This is supported by its strategic location, skilled workforce and established infrastructure, making it a natural hub for wind and wider energy developments.
One of the most significant projects underway is the development of the Ardersier Energy Transition Facility, which last year was approved almost £4m of HIE funding as part of the Scottish Government’s wider strategic investment to develop the offshore wind supply chain.
What this means in practice is that, once developed by Ardersier Port (Scotland) Limited, part of Haventus, the site will become Scotland’s largest facility on the North Sea coast, supporting everything from manufacturing to deployment and servicing of offshore wind components.
This critical infrastructure will support both fixed and floating offshore wind projects, helping to strengthen supply chains and reinforce the region’s role at the heart of the energy transition.
Whilst we acknowledge the many headwinds impacting project delivery timescales, renewable energy represents one of the most significant economic opportunities the Highlands and Islands has ever seen, and it is vital that we continue to position the region to benefit from it.
Projects such as Ardersier will help create new, well-paid jobs and provide long-term career opportunities for young people, helping to retain talent locally.
Turning opportunity into lasting regional benefit relies on strong collaboration. HIE’s work spans business support, innovation, infrastructure and community development, all of which are essential to ensuring communities can fully capitalise on emerging economic opportunities while supporting sustainable population growth.
We are proud to support the Highland Business Dinner as principal sponsor because it reflects the collaborative approach that is needed to deliver projects of this scale and ambition. Strong partnerships between businesses, public bodies and communities will be central to unlocking transformational growth across the Inner Moray Firth and beyond.
The dinner is a chance to recognise progress, strengthen connections and continue important conversations about how we work together to secure a prosperous, sustainable future for the region.
Audrey MacIver
Area Manager Inner Moray Firth
As a graduate of Aberdeen University (BSc Hons in Agricultural Economics), Audrey has dedicated her career to economic and community development of the Highlands and Islands. Earlier roles in HIE included community development, economics, tourism, skills and energy, director of energy and low carbon. She was appointed as HIE area manager in January 2024 to lead its work across the Inner Moray Firth area. Sustainable economic growth across the Highlands and Islands is HIE’s core purpose, and energy is a priority sector, offering distinct competitive advantages. In addition to securing maximum economic and social benefits from large scale offshore developments and stimulating innovation across emerging technologies, we're committed to the deployment of local energy systems, noting the region’s rich energy resources, and the community benefits such an approach can bring. Audrey is confident the transition to net zero offers exciting prospects, firmly believing the Highlands and Islands is a region that can punch well above its weight in contributing to the ambitious targets being set.