By Kristy Dorsey
Partners bidding for licenses in the landmark ScotWind auction have promised to create a £100 million fund that will invest directly in Scottish companies looking to join the offshore wind supply chain.
The consortium – which includes SSE Renewables, Japan’s Marubeni and Danish fund manager Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) – said the fund will support the partners’ ambition to spend half of their budgets with Scottish suppliers over the lifetime of their proposed projects. The fund will be established if their bids are successful.
Furthermore, they estimate that up to £15 billion will be added to the Scottish economy if their plans go ahead.
READ MORE: ScotWind bidders aim to create floating windfarm jobs
The Crown Estate Scotland is running the ScotWind licensing round and is requiring applicants to submit supply chain development statements.
It comes amid growing concern, following the collapse of BiFab and CS Wind, that Scotland’s renewables push is not leading to an equivalent bonanza in new green jobs. SSE has previously been criticised for awarding manufacturing work related to windfarms off Scotland to firms based outside the country.
ScotWind is the first offshore wind auction for a decade to cover acreage off Scotland. It closed to applications in July, with results due to be announced next year.
The fund will support Scottish business, including those from the oil and gas sector, to enter the offshore wind sector. It will also encourage the existing supply chain to establish new facilities, while also upgrading port facilities to accommodate future offshore wind deployment.
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