Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council

The Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council (SOWEC) is a partnership between the Scottish public sector and the offshore wind industry, co-chaired by Dr Alasdair Allan, Acting Minister for Climate Action, and Brian MacFarlane of SSE.

Gillian Martin MSP, (Acting Minister for Climate Action), speaking at All Energy Conference, Glasgow 11 May 2023” credit: All Energy 2023

Offshore Wind Ambition

Vision

A world-class offshore wind sector that underpins the transition to net zero by 2045 and maximises the value to Scotland.

Mission

To coordinate and grow the sector, ensuring the Scottish offshore wind industry is more sustainable, competitive, and commercially-attractive, both domestically and in the global offshore wind market.

SOWEC Goals

Deliver 11GW of fixed and floating offshore wind in Scottish waters by 2030.
Establish Scotland as a world-class offshore wind sector at the leading edge of technology innovation, driving excellence in efficiency, productivity, safety, and sustainability.
A transformational and rapid increase in economic value, delivering a world-class supply chain in Scotland.
Develop a highly skilled and diverse workforce, support new entrants, expand apprenticeships and enable transitioning from existing sectors whilst inspiring the future talent pipeline and increasing the representation of women and BAME workers.
Champion floating and fixed offshore wind’s contribution to achieving Scotland’s net-zero commitment by 2045, incorporating the oil and gas transition, hydrogen and wider energy system integration.

SOWEC Subgroups

The Challenge

SOWEC has five subgroups tasked with dealing with different industry challenges. These include a Developer, Skills, Innovation and Barriers to Industry subgroups along with a Supply Chain and Clusters subgroup.

Industry Relationships

The diagram on the left sets out the relationships between the SOWEC main board and the delivery subgroups along with illustrating the reciprocal links and feedback loops with the two Scottish supply chain clusters, DeepWind and Forth & Tay Offshore.

Strategic Investment Assessment

In August 2021, the independent Strategic Investment Assessment was published, with a set of five strategic recommendations made to SOWEC. These recommendations were agreed in full and are now being implemented by SOWEC, with the main focus of effort being the development of a Collaborative Framework between Scottish offshore wind projects and Government. More informaton on the SIA can be found here.

Collaborative Framework & the SIM

Alongside its sub-groups, SOWEC is working with all ScotWind developers on a Collaborative Framework, seeking to transform Scotland's supply chain through joint sector action. This work has developed the Strategic Investment Model (SIM), launched in May 2023. The SIM's immediate priority is to agree investment priorities for larger infrastructure projects needed to successfully deliver ScotWind.

SOWEC Publications

Subgroup Terms of Reference

The Scottish Government sees offshore wind as one of the most important economic and net zero opportunities we have.

Gillian Martin MSP, Minister for Energy, Scottish Government

The offshore wind sector in Scotland

Find out more about the offshore wind sector and what's happening across Scotland.