Orkney poised to play a pivotal role in Scotland's net zero ambitions

THE island archipelago of Orkney has been punching well above its weight in the field of innovation since the Bronze Age – and with its strategic location in the North Sea off the coast of Caithness, it’s fast-developing centre for the energy sector and a global climate emergency declared, it’s hardly surprising that its role in the move toward a carbon-free future is a pivotal one. 

Last month, the announcement that a high-voltage subsea power cable to carry renewable energy from Orkney to mainland Scotland had been approved in principle by regulators was the most recent evidence of the islands’ importance in tackling climate change and Orkney Islands Council has estimated the project could be worth £371million to the local economy in the next 45 years.

Orkney has been granted consent for three new wind farms which helped secure approval and power firm SSEN expects the project to be complete by 2027/28, with interconnectors running from Scotland’s three largest island groups – Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles – carrying enough electricity to power more than 2.5 million homes and putting Scotland at the forefront of global developments in marine energy generation.

This is just one of several current initiatives on the islands that illustrate how port infrastructure is critical to delivering a net-zero future, says Paul Olvhoj, business development manager at Orkney Islands Council’s Marine Services, adding that the islands are focused on the potential of offshore wind in the marine renewable sector and the significant opportunities presented.

Paul Olvhoj, business development manager at Orkney Islands Council’s Marine Services

He stresses these developments are part of a wider picture, pointing to a report published recently by RenewableUK that says up to 11 ports around the UK will need to be transformed as quickly as possible into new industrial hubs to enable the roll-out of floating offshore wind at scale and could result in 34 gigawatts (GW) of floating wind installed in UK waters by 2040 if the UK and Scottish Governments take swift and decisive action.

Orkney is one of the ports essential to this imperative. “We have the unique geographical advantage of Scapa Flow, the largest natural deep-water harbour in the northern hemisphere and a completely new facility at Scapa Deep Water Quay which is planning to be a shovel ready project by the end of this year, providing the setting for internationally significant marine logistics to serve new and emerging sectors including low carbon fuel transition and offshore wind,” he says.

The main developments in the £230 million Orkney Island Council Harbour Authority Masterplan aim to place the islands at the forefront of a cleaner and greener future for Scotland through offshore wind power: the strategy’s first phase outlines the islands’ plans for the physical transformation of harbours across key locations on the mainland, while the second will consider the development of smaller harbours and piers across the entire archipelago.

“As we see the oil exports from the Flotta Oil Terminal decrease, we have to look ultimately at the transition to net-zero and offshore wind is absolutely critical to that,” says Olvhoj. 

“We have a one-stop shop, not only involving Scapa Deep Water Quay but also at the old Royal Navy base at Lyness for start-up offshore wind developments and at the Flotta Hydrogen Hub where a leading energy industry partnership is investigating the opportunity for offshore wind to power the production of green hydrogen on an industrial scale – which would both create renewable employment and significant quantities of green hydrogen for export. It’s that kind of circular development that we’re looking at.” 

SSEN will begin work on a high voltage subsea power cable which  will carry renewable energy from Orkney to the mainland 

It’s also the kind of development that relies on cooperation and collaboration between the private and public sectors and academia. 

The European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Stromness was set up in 2003 and has allowed dozens of businesses to diversify into the marine energy field while Edinburgh’s Heriot-Watt University, based at the Orkney Research & Innovation Campus (ORIC), has a campus in Stromness which specialises in advanced research, postgraduate training and consultancy in marine energy and related fields. 

“You can see how all these things come together to unlock the building blocks to achieve net-zero operations,” says Olvhoj. “The input of global leaders in the field of renewables research and innovation such as ORIC in Stromness, where much of the sector’s activity is currently focused, are critical to that progress,” he adds.

This is further underpinned by the Islands Growth Deal, an investment package worth up to £393 million which was signed in Orkney in January this year by UK ministers and local council leaders as a joint development by Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, Shetland Islands Council and Orkney Islands Council, with other partners. Which reminds us that progress inevitably comes with a price tag, and Olvhoj stresses that Orkney Islands Council’s Marine Services must be able to leverage the funding to deliver such technology at scale – and at speed. 

The 2023 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report in March alarmingly concluded that adverse climate impacts are already more far-reaching and extreme than anticipated, with the window to address the climate crisis closing rapidly.

“The UK Government has opened a £160 million fund to support port infrastructure for floating offshore wind as well as £20 million to develop zero emissions vessels and their required infrastructure, which is a good start,” he says. 

“All ports have the same challenge: we need contracts to invest in addressing that challenge that and we don’t get awarded contracts for things that are eight to 10 years away, because people simply don’t sign a contract on that basis.  

“It’s a Catch 22 situation and why we need government to step in and we’re not just asking for free money; rather access to funds that can be paid back once we are earning and the port is up and running. 

“So, we constantly engage with ministers and various government agencies to stress that we are enthused by Tim Pick’s role as the UK’s first Offshore Wind Champion and the Floating Wind Offshore Wind Taskforce report which has laid out that ports are critically important infrastructure. 

“But it then requires the Government and Treasury to look at that and decide how it can help.”

The timeline, he concedes is tight. “We in Orkney want to have a funding stack in place by the end of this year, with the planning permissions already going through the process to have these shovel-ready projects ready for funding. We already have that plan and have built in the time to engage with government, but the timeline is undoubtedly critical if we’re going to fulfil our ambitions.”

For a small group of islands, it’s a big goal to replace oil and gas as quickly as Olvhoj would like, especially having just weathered the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic but he’s optimistic about the prospects.  

“There are significant opportunities for all our ports and regions to benefit from this transition but we’re very confident that our plans are the right ones – not just for Orkney but for Caithness and Sutherland and further afield. 

orkneyharbours.com