The event has been organised by Highlands & Islands Enterprise (HIE). It includes updates from developers and presentations on the emerging market in floating wind technology.
Projects in the north of Scotland include SSE’s 588MW Beatrice offshore wind farm – which was opened last month - and the 950MW Moray East project, which is under construction. Beatrice cost £2.4bn and the cost of Moray East is approximately £2.8bn.
HIE said that there are significant opportunities for companies across the whole of Scotland. The DeepWind offshore wind cluster has been established by HIE and Scottish Enterprise to help Scottish companies tap into the booming market.
Attendees at the event include Edinburgh-based EDP Renewables and Engie, who are the lead partners in delivering the Moray East offshore wind farm and its sister project, Moray West - two of the largest offshore wind projects in the world.
Equinor and Kincardine Offshore Wind represent the largest floating offshore wind projects in the world - the Hywind and Kincardine projects respectively.
The Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult, a UK-based technology innovation and research centre for offshore renewable energy, will also be at the event.
Paul O’Brien, deep wind cluster manager at HIE, said: “This is new territory for HIE and Scottish Enterprise as we help create an energy industry cluster. The response from member companies and the support from developers such as EDPR and SSE has been amazing. They have embraced the DeepWind cluster concept and membership has grown tremendously. From a standing start in April this year it has now reached 150 members and this growth looks set to continue.”
Dan Finch, managing director at EDPR Renewables, added: “In order to deliver large scale commercial contracts in the Highlands we need to work together to realise the opportunities for regional businesses. Events such as these can help to support organisations, making sure that they are ready and able to provide the required services - at a competitive cost and scale.
“Other areas of the UK, such as Hull, have responded well to renewables development and benefitted massively in return. These opportunities lie in the Highlands and we are determined for them to be realised.”
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