A DRIVE has been launched to convince the offshore renewables industry to use a Moray port as a key base.
Green energy firms believe Buckie is perfectly placed to tap into the potential of the 400 turbines they plan to build off its coast.
The fishing harbour is already used by vessels that service the Talisman Beatrice Project, a trial windfarm site with two 5MW generators.
Buckie Shipyard also has a contract to supply a number of vessels for future windfarm operations.
Hopes are high that more companies can be persuaded to use the port as a base for operations and maintenance work.
A new brochure has been produced to promote the harbour to firms considering investing.
There are currently proposals to build about 400 wind turbines in the Moray Firth.
Moray Offshore Renewables Ltd (Morl) plans to instal more than 200 as part of a £4.5billion project, potentially generating enough power for 750,000 homes.
The company has said Buckie is an “obvious choice” as an onshore base for operations and maintenance, a role that could create a “significant” number of long-term jobs.
Yards elsewhere in the north and north-east are also being considered – and councillors have stressed that Moray Council needs to “seize the day”.
The new promotional material was produced by the local authority in conjunction with Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Skills Development Scotland, UHI Moray College and the Kinloss Skills Partnership.
It contains facts and figures about the harbour itself and information about existing industrial activity in the area, development opportunities, transport links and training.
Councillor John Russell, chairman of Moray Council’s economic development and infrastructure services committee, said yesterday: “The council has been working in partnership with other key agencies to promote Buckie, and Moray as a whole, to the offshore renewable industry.
“This has involved engaging with the offshore renewable industry to try to identify operator requirements and skills to facilitate an operations-and-maintenance base at the harbour.”
A spokesman for Morl said: “The Moray Council has given serious consideration to the opportunities which offshore wind could bring, and has engaged with us since early in the process to determine how Buckie could best take advantage of those opportunities.
“We are at an early stage in development and details of maintenance and operation are not yet determined.
“However, we expect to apply to the Scottish Government for consent this summer and this will be a major milestone in driving the project forward.”
The Scottish Government aims to generate 20% of all energy and 100% of electricity requirements from renewable sources by 2020.
Both Morl and Beatrice Offshore Windfarm have already been successful in obtaining licences from the Crown Estate to develop windfarms in the Moray Firth. The developers have held a series of drop-in information sessions in communities along the firth, including Buckie.