The high-level meeting in Europe’s energy capital planned for December 17 is seen as critical in securing mutual buy-in between Scotland’s hugely successful upstream offshore oil and gas supply chain and the emerging offshore wind industry.
Economic development agency Scottish Enterprise (SE) is working with leading figures in both industries and public-sector partners to drive collaboration and ensure that the vast reservoir of energy experience and skills concentrated in and around Aberdeen is recognised for what it is by wind developers and the power utilities.
The goal is to ensure that Scotland does indeed secure a solid position in maritime renewables – not just wind but wave and tidal power-based power generation, too.
The meeting, which was announced by the First Minister Alex Salmond at last month’s RenewableUK conference, will be held at Aberdeen Harbour Operations Centre.
As revealed by The Press and Journal on November 2, it will be co-chaired by Sir Ian Wood, founder and chairman of the Wood Group, and Ian Marchant, chief executive of Scottish and Southern Energy, the UK’s largest renewables generator.
The meeting is by invitation only, a tight-group of people drawn from the leaders of the oil and gas supply chain and key figures within the renewables community.
Also present will be Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group (Areg), the private-public partnership that for 10 years has, like this paper, trailblazed the message that the oil and gas supply chain’s capabilities are of critical importance to the success of maritime renewables.
Scottish Enterprise, in partnership with the Crown Estate and with assistance from Areg, ran an immensely successful offshore wind supply-chain “share fair” in January. Indeed it was the most successful of any of the fairs planned at that time by the Crown Estate to share knowledge in specific areas.
SE has also run a series of workshops and carried out research into supply-chain capabilities.
The December meeting will be the precursor to another round of share-fair events starting in Aberdeen next February and will be delivered in partnership by Scottish Enterprise, the Crown Estate, Areg, the Carbon Trust, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Scottish Renewables.
The north-east oil and gas community is showing a sharpening appetite for maritime renewables opportunities. This is reflected in Areg’s fast-growing membership, which now stands at about 170 companies and other organisations.
According to Scottish Enterprise, with about 38% of offshore wind project costs spent on marine installation and associated substructure activity, the skills, knowledge and experience of Scotland’s oil and gas sector is now acknowledged as pivotal to the success of the offshore wind industry.
Key areas for collaboration exist in design, build, operations and eventual decommissioning of offshore wind projects.
A typical supply chain for an offshore wind project includes a wide range of specialist services such as engineering, design and project management, environmental monitoring, vessel and helicopter charter, manufacture and fabrication, installation, specialist underwater survey teams and health and safety.
As part of the upcoming meeting, there will be detailed discussions on issues such as design and fabrication, installation, and operations and maintenance, as well as contract management, health and safety and skills.
Each discussion theme will be introduced by a key leader from both offshore wind development and the oil and gas supply chain to provide a perspective from both sectors.
The session will also provide a forum to discuss some challenges faced by the two sectors in any collaboration such as cost issues, cultural differences and business models.
Adrian Gillespie, senior director of energy at Scottish Enterprise, told Energy: “The north-east’s rich history and unrivalled experience in oil and gas operations and maintenance gives us a really strong, competitive advantage in the development of offshore wind.
“It is now about capitalising on that wealth of knowledge and expertise to create a well-connected, efficient and effective supply chain that can service offshore windfarms.
“It’s clear that there is an immediate opportunity for both sectors to collaborate to maximise opportunities and this event will hopefully mark a step change in the development of long-term, fruitful partnerships that will cement Scotland’s position as one of the most effective and efficient energy locations in the world.”
Energy has hammered out the message that the offshore oil and gas supply chain and indeed many of the standards that go with it are hugely relevant to maritime renewables and must be embraced by that sector if it is to avoid potentially costly mistakes by attempting to reinvent the proverbial wheel.
The offshore evaluation study published earlier this year suggests that Scotland has 206 gigawatts of wind, wave and tidal resources – about 40% of the UK total.
An estimated 10.6GW of offshore wind capacity is currently available for commissioning by 2020.
In addition, a recent report published by Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Renewables, which set out a number of scenarios for the offshore wind sector in Scotland, estimates there could be up to 28,000 direct jobs created in the next decade, contributing £7.1billion of investment to the economy.
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