DeepWind and agencies Highland and Islands Enterprise, Scottish Enterprise, and South of Scotland Enterprise have launched a consultation with potential suppliers for ScotWind projects.
The work is being done alongside Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group (AREG) and an unnamed engineering, procurement, construction, and installation (EPCI) company involved in the ScotWind offshore wind projects.
The aim is to identify Scottish-based suppliers who can support the delivery of products and services related to offshore wind foundations, including monopiles, jackets with pin piles, and jackets with suction buckets, along with the relevant transition pieces.
The groups have invited AREG members to review the products and services required to deliver the foundations and tell them which items they can currently supply with existing facilities and capabilities.
DeepWind and the enterprise agencies are also looking to discover which products or services the supplier could potentially provide if they receive further investment.
The data gathered will assist the EPCI company in identifying suitable suppliers for the ScotWind projects, ultimately supporting the goal of achieving preferred supplier status for a select number of companies.
Additionally, the information collected will contribute to developing a capability database for the offshore wind supply chain, which will help streamline future inquiries and promote domestic content for ScotWind.
The UK and Scotland have been taking steps to build the supply chains needed to develop a wave of upcoming offshore wind projects.
This includes multiple projects in the Strategic Investment Model (SIM) process, with several advancing through the process in recent months.
The SIM programme aims to better align the local supply chain with the plans made by developers for the ScotWind series of projects.
With multiple projects in the pipeline and the UK government setting ambitious targets for offshore wind, the country needs to develop its supply chain to meet the spike in demand.
Last year, a survey by the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult warned of declining confidence in the UK’s offshore wind supply chain as inflation ate into margins.
However, this was tempered by longer-term optimism on growth, with ORE Catapult saying that overall sentiment in the industry remains high.
DeepWind is the main body for the offshore wind sector in Scotland – it merged Forth and Tay Offshore.
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