Offshore wind emphasised as a key opportunity for Scotland’s green economy

The Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council (SOWEC) has welcomed the publication of the Scottish Government’s Green Industrial Strategy (GIS), which places Scotland at the forefront of the net zero economy, including strategic action to secure growth and investment.

Delivered as part of the Programme for Government, the GIS sets out five priority areas where efforts and resources will be concentrated:

• maximising Scotland’s wind economy
• growing the hydrogen sector
• developing the carbon capture, utilisation and storage sector
• supporting green economy professional and financial services
• attracting clean energy intensive industries such as datacentres

A range of specific actions include hosting a Global Offshore Wind Investment Forum next spring, working with the sector to develop hubs of hydrogen production, and working with public and private partners to drive investment in key projects.

Within the strategy, offshore wind is emphasised as a key opportunity for the development of Scotland’s green economy and highlights a current potential pipeline of over 40GW of projects. This will significantly contribute to the achievement of the Scottish Government’s net zero ambitions of up to 11GW of offshore wind by 2030, while also serving to establish Scotland as a world-class offshore wind sector and driving the transformation to the green economy.

SOWEC welcomes its central role as a vital platform for engagement between industry and public sector. Working in collaboration with key industry partners, SOWEC will continue to coordinate and grow offshore wind development in Scotland in line with the commitments laid out in the strategy.

The GIS also outlines a number of actions that the Scottish Government will take to deliver targeted economic growth required to unlock the potential of the five priority areas identified.

Two key actions include:

• Improvement of the marine planning framework by publishing an updated offshore wind policy statement in 2025/26
• Commissioning £3.2 million of research via Scottish Marine Energy Research (SCOTmer) to reduce uncertainty in the planning and consenting process

Read the full strategy here.

Brian MacFarlane, SOWEC co-chair