UK Date of the Offshore Wind Industry Supply Chain Events Second Series

The Crown Estate today have announced the dates of a second series of seven UK supply chain events for the offshore wind industry being organised with partner agencies around the UK. This follows on from events organised at the beginning of 2010 but this time is targeting companies further down the supply chain. With over 1GW of wind power generation off the UK coast, an ambitious programme of development out to 2020 and beyond, this developing industry is creating some of the largest infrastructure projects in the world with a potential market investment of over £100 billion. The UK is poised to create a world leading industry bringing investment, tens of thousands of jobs and a significant boost to the UK economy.

Key to realising this vision is a competitive, reliable and flexible supply chain that will form the backbone of the industry. These events will take us a stage further in understanding what UK companies can do to do to step up to the challenge, providing updated information, networking opportunities to build relationships and be involved in supply chain specific workshops.

These events will be delivered through a working partnership of The Crown Estate, the UK Government the devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland by the Regional Development and Enterprise Agencies and their renewable energy delivery bodies.

The UK dates are:

• Scotland: 2 February 2011 Aberdeen (Scottish Enterprise, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Scottish Renewables)

• North West & North Wales: 8 February 2011 Merseyside (Envirolink, NWDA, Welsh Assembly Government)

• North East: 10 February 2011 York (Yorkshire Forward and One North East)

• South: 15 February 2011 Twickenham (EEDA, OrbisEnergy, SEEDA, EnviroBusiness, SWRDA, Regen SW)

• Midlands: 16 February 2011 Birmingham (RESCO and East Midlands Development Agency)

• Wales: 22 February 2011 Cardiff (Welsh Assembly Government)

• Northern Ireland: 8 March 2011 Belfast (Invest Northern Ireland)

These sharefair events will enable all those involved in developing offshore wind sites to do identify opportunities to do business. A single region cannot deliver the requirements to support the scale of development alone; these events will create the strategic opportunity for local and regional companies to do business right across the UK.

The supply chain is in the broadest sense all the elements that will contribute to offshore wind energy deployment including: components; skilled workforce; infrastructure; also the regulatory environment. All these elements of supply chain will be discussed in varying form through presentations, exhibitions and workshops. Businesses are encouraged to attend from across the spectrum. It is essential for supporting the deployment of offshore wind to deliver ambitious UK renewable energy targets. This is a huge opportunity for the businesses across the UK to play a role in providing new jobs, inward investment and to ensure that we remain the world leader in offshore wind deployment. The anticipated scope of growth is akin to the oil and gas service industry.

The potential for growth in the job market is significant; research by Renewable UK (formally known as the British Wind Energy Association (BWEA)) estimates that the UK wind industry jobs will be in the region of 57,000 by 2020, a significant growth from 5,000 in 2008. In addition, The European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) estimates that the number of jobs in the EU wind industry will more than double from 154,000 to 325,000 by 2020, which could lead to significant opportunities for the UK to export expertise internationally.

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Source: thecrownestate, December 16, 2010