The Scottish Government's Minister for Energy and the Environment Gillian Martin has highlighted the economic opportunities offered by floating offshore wind in her speech at RenewableUK's Global Offshore Wind 2023 conference in London today (June 15), saying:
"Scotland finds itself again at the epicentre of an energy revolution; the rapid expansion of offshore wind which we're on the cusp of is often compared to the oil and gas boom of the 1980s and it's arguably the greatest opportunity we've had since then. I say arguably because we have an opportunity to make the next energy wave more prosperous for the people of Scotland".
The Minister focussed on floating offshore wind, noting that in 2022 Scotland had 60% of the world's operational floating wind capacity, but she added: "For energy security, for jobs, a just transition for oil and gas workers and achieving a net zero electricity system, we know that we need far more".
She highlighted that fact that the latest ScotWind leasing round has the potential to deliver 28GW of new offshore wind capacity - and that 17GW of this are floating wind projects.
She stated: "Crucially we cannot deliver our ambition for floating offshore wind without a supply chain that's fit for purpose, so an early priority will be investment in ports and harbours. But the Government can't foot the bill for everything that needs to be done. We need to work in partnership to attract investment into Scotland".
More details on our Global Offshore Wind 2023 conference at exhibition at ExCeL in London are available here.
Notes:
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Robert Norris, Head of Communications 07969 229 913 Robert.Norris@RenewableUK.com
