Wave, tidal and offshore wind power are at the forefront of alternative energy strategy that will benefit communities in the north, says Neil Clark

Hebrides, Cromarty, Fair Isle … for those cocooned in the comfort of a warm house on bleak nights the Met Office’s shipping forecast conjures up the images and sounds of wind and waves lashing at the northern shores of Scotland. Increasingly, though, these wind and waves are providing the heat and light both at home and for business, playing a dynamic role in the development of the economy of the Highlands and Islands.

Audrey MacIver, Head of Energy at Highlands and Islands Enterprise is keen to capitalise on the key themes of the Scottish Government’s Draft Energy Strategy, which she says plays well into the agency’s priorities in terms of wider social and economic development throughout the region.

"The Draft Strategy, currently out for consultation, contains ambitious targets for renewable deployment and advocates a joined-up approach that includes electricity, heat and transport," she says.

"At the recent Scottish Renewables Annual Conference there was broad industry support for this approach and we look forward to playing our part in realising the ambitious targets and ensuring that the region continues to play its full part, securing the maximum economic and social benefits."

Mrs MacIver highlights some key developments, including:

Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Ltd (BOWL), a £2.6 billion investment and one of Scotland’s largest-ever infrastructure projects. Generating 588 MW, this 84-turbine wind farm is planned to power some 450,000 homes and is expected to deliver £680 million to the economy and a further £400-£525m during its 25-year operational life.

MeyGen Phase 1a in the Inner Sound of the Pentland Firth, a milestone for the tidal industry and currently the world’s biggest planned tidal power development.

The European Marine Energy Centre, or EMEC (see panel, right) which since 2005 has been at the forefront of global research and development in marine energy, with more than 25 prototype wave and tidal energy technologies trialled in its open sea test sites in Orkney and which is diversifying into hydrogen production from tidal energy.

WES ( Wave Energy Scotland, established late in 2014 as a subsidiary of HIE) now has a total of 54 funded projects, involving 129 organisations from industry and academia, and has invested a total of £22.5m to date. The eight wave devices in the Novel Wave Energy Converter Programme have been successfully tested in wave tanks at FloWave (see panel, left) and Strathclyde University.

Mrs MacIver explains that HIE’s vision is to strengthen an already diverse energy industry in the Highlands and Islands and develop a truly mixed energy economy that utilises onshore wind power and also supports the development of wave and tidal energy devices and deep-water offshore wind farms.

"From HIE’s perspective we are watching that brief and determining the economic opportunities for businesses in the region.

"There are large energy projects under construction in terms of scale and the infrastructure required to deploy them – for instance the Beatrice offshore project and MeyGen Phase 1, in addition to testing activity at EMEC.

"We at HIE, together with our partners in Scottish Enterprise and Scottish Development International have enabled the companies here to be more alert to the opportunities that these types of offshore wind or marine projects can
bring them.

"Plus we can ensure that they are in the best possible place to secure contracts from the large projects which tend to be offered at Tier One or Tier Two level to established players such as Siemens, equipping them to up-skill and change their production practices."

There is, says Mrs MacIver, the challenge of making sure that there is a route to market beyond the initial projects in which companies are engaged. "You have to ask what the volume and scale of opportunities are in terms of large infrastructure and supply chain activity, though over the past five to seven years we have been encouraged by significant infrastructure investment right across the Highlands and Islands both from the public sector and through private operators."

"We are now starting to see the fruits of that investment – evidenced recently by the Port of Cromarty Firth securing two contracts from Seaway Heavy Lifting to support the installation of the 84-turbine Beatrice windfarm."

There are also the positive legacy issues of a long-established energy sector based in Scotland. "We can help outline the opportunities, meeting with potential customers as we understand their procurement practices and what investment they need in their companies. We can help them realise that much of the skills base already exists as a legacy of the oil and
gas sector.

"The renewables developments often involve different clients for those companies involved in the oil and gas supply chain so we can help them to make these connections and help them understand the key drivers, which differ somewhat from those in oil and gas."

Mrs MacIver says that while the wave and tidal sectors are at different stages of development compared with commercial offshore wind, HIE has a long-term commitment to exploring opportunities for the sector and has been committed to wave and tidal power for well over a decade – and not least to EMEC in Orkney to enable that testing and verification.

"In the next two to three years we very much want to ensure that the region will be a test bed for new product development and open up new approaches to renewable energy – and that will involve EMEC and floating wind developments so that will continue to be a priority for us," she adds.

"We will also be involved in maximising the supply chain and the social benefits that come from large offshore wind projects, particularly the Beatrice project.

"Also, there will be a focus on low carbon energy systems and, again, the local energy benefits that come from this. It’s about understanding what the longer-term route to market will be for the sector, how costs can be driven down and ultimately what that means in terms of longer-term support networks.

"This involves close collaboration with both industry and academia to derive the economic and social benefits, to address the multiple challenges for our businesses and communities – and make sure that they are totally geared up to benefit from the evolution of the energy sector." 

For more information, visit hie.co.uk