Scrabster Harbour Securing Jobs in Renewables (UK)

A £20 million investment programme at Scrabster Harbour is securing jobs and helping to position the north of Scotland at the forefront of the renewables revolution, John Swinney said.

The Finance, Employment and Sustainable Growth Secretary visited the harbour to witness progress on major redevelopment plans, supported by the Scottish Government and Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), which are already attracting interest from renewables businesses.

Mr Swinney said:

“The Scottish Government is committed to the development of a successful and sustainable offshore renewables industry in Scotland.

“The investment here at Scrabster Harbour is already helping to secure the anticipated economic and environmental benefits of a renewables revolution.

“Work began on this ambitious harbour redevelopment in August and is due to complete in July next year, on time and within budget. Over half of those directly employed in this work are locally based and the project is directly supporting another seven local businesses.

“Already major renewables companies are expressing interest in the opportunities for manufacturing, assembly and deployment of devices as well as the maintenance and operations services the port can provide. And Scrabster is well placed to take advantage of developments in the oil and gas industry west of Shetland which will help to secure the future of that industry well into the future.

“The large scale development of offshore renewables represents the biggest opportunity for sustainable economic growth in Scotland for a generation and it is critical that Scotland exploits those opportunities.

“Scotland has the natural resources and technical expertise to provide a considerable market opportunity for offshore wind, wave and tidal energy technology and equipment providers, as well as potential inward investors.

“The Scottish Government is determined that, through our support, Scotland’s coastal communities realise the full benefits that this green industrial revolution will bring.”

Scrabster Harbour Trust Chairman William Calder said:

“The Trust is grateful to the Scottish Government, Highlands & Islands Enterprise and our other funding partners for their confidence and support in advancing our Phase 1 development This is a hugely exciting period for Scrabster and Caithness, the port is ideally placed to capitalise on the marine renewable activity in the Pentland Firth and oil and gas development West of Shetland. Commercial interest in the port has never been stronger. We look forward to continued partnership working to further develop the port in line with our development programme.”

HIE’s Director of Regional Development Carroll Buxton said:

“Investment by the public and private sectors in modern port facilities such as Scrabster will support the ambitions of Scotland and the Highlands and Islands in particular to become the global centre of the marine renewables sector.”

Scrabster Harbour occupies a strategically important location within the Pentland Firth, the first area in the UK to be made available for commercial-scale development of wave and tidal energy. In November 2010, HIE approved funding of £5 million (supplemented in April 2011 by over £2 million made available to HIE by Scottish Government) towards circa £20 million development by Scrabster Harbour Trust to develop a modern multi-purpose pier capable of meeting the needs of the emerging renewables industry.

Work is now well underway and the Trust also has future plans to develop a business park on land close to the harbour to meet emerging needs of the industry. The provision of enhanced facilities at Scrabster Harbour will allow Scrabster to market these facilities for the future development of marine and off-shore renewables and allow developers to plan within an understanding of certainty that these facilities will be in place.

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Offshore WIND staff, December 13, 2011; Image: scrabster