Wind ports surge

Developers and manufacturers will be able to bid for a share of up to GB£160m in new UK Government funding, to kickstart projects across the UK. 

UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, said: “Offshore wind is a UK success story in forging our Green Industrial Revolution. Tapping into this emerging sector will boost our clean electricity generation even further, creating jobs and green innovation across the whole of the UK.”

Opportunities for Scotland and Wales

It is expected that the GB£160m, boosted by private sector investment, will develop port infrastructure capable of mass-producing floating offshore wind turbines and installing them out at sea, creating thousands of new jobs in the UK’s industrial heartlands, whilst reducing the need to import from overseas.

Making the most of the deep waters off the Scottish coast offers huge opportunities for Scotland’s coastal communities, building on its lead as a technology hub for offshore wind, including two of the world’s first floating offshore wind farms off the coast of Aberdeen.

The Celtic Sea is also a major development opportunity for the offshore wind sector, with a combination of deep waters and strong winds, and which is set to create significant opportunities for development in Wales, creating a new economic cluster that builds on its strong industrial heritage.

The newly allocated funding will support the target in the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan to deliver 1GW of energy through floating offshore wind by 2030.

The news was announced ahead of COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland.

The funding follows the Government’s GB£160m scheme to upgrade ports and infrastructure for the conventional offshore wind industry, which has secured around £1.5bn of investment, including new offshore wind ports in Teesside and the Humber.