Business benefits of renewables industry highlighted – as sector gears up to triple in size by 2030

With wind energy alone pushing ambitious targets which could see its capacity increase by 231% by 2030, “the potential future pipeline in Scotland has never been stronger”, Scottish Renewables’ Chief Executive Claire Mack has said.

The third edition of the annual Supply Chain Impact Statement spotlights 32 firms working across Scotland’s renewable energy industry, which employs 22,660 people.

They include:

• Global Energy Group - a company which supported two of Scotland’s largest offshore wind farms, Moray East and Seagreen, from its Port of Nigg facility.
• RJ McLeod - a longstanding Scottish civil engineering and building contractor which has built more than 100 Scottish onshore wind farm projects.
• Kensa Group - the UK’s leading ground source heat pump specialist, which has saved over one million tonnes of carbon since 1999 through its installations.
• Renewable Parts - a supplier based in Lochgilphead, providing wind turbine parts and components with a focus on the circular economy.
• Locogen - an experienced consultancy supporting all renewable technologies, including emerging green hydrogen projects.

Organisations in the report have worked on and delivered many projects over the past year including: Scotland’s first fifth-generation heating network, a pioneering zero-emission hydrogen fuel cell train project, multiple low-carbon transport hubs, the UK’s largest community-owned hydro scheme, the world’s most powerful tidal turbine, ground-breaking floating offshore wind farms, specialist renewably-powered remote monitoring solutions and innovative artificial intelligence control systems.

Claire Mack, Chief Executive of Scottish Renewables, said: “Renewable energy projects across Scotland deliver many benefits to our urban, rural and island communities, providing low-carbon heat, transport and electricity as well as creating employment opportunities for the people who live there. Scottish Renewables’ Supply Chain Impact report highlights the positive impact renewables projects can have and these case studies show that the strength of Scottish suppliers is being recognised not only in the Scottish market but globally.

“Both the onshore and offshore wind sectors, which provide so much of the economic benefit highlighted in this report, are pushing hard for huge growth, including from the 17 new offshore projects which came through the recent ScotWind Leasing round. That means the potential future pipeline of renewable energy projects in Scotland has never been stronger, and the time is now for both governments to work with industry to build on the successes highlighted in this statement by investing in innovation, infrastructure and technology to support supply chain development to make the most of these opportunities.

“Our native supply chain already boasts innovative start-ups and evolving established organisations which are working to create unique added value for green energy projects while also driving economic activity here in Scotland. The companies celebrated in the document demonstrate only a small proportion of the complex supplier network required to deploy net-zero technologies and there is increasing opportunity on the horizon for further supply chain growth.”

Support for the Impact Statement comes from Headline Sponsor SSE Renewables and Sponsors EDF Renewables, Inch Cape Offshore Limited and Mainstream Renewable Power.

Paul Cooley, Director of Capital Projects at SSE Renewables, said: “SSE Renewables is delighted to be Headline Sponsor of Scottish Renewables’ annual Supply Chain Impact Statement. This important report highlights not just the huge value our industry is currently generating for Scotland’s economy, but also the opportunity which lies ahead if we can maximise the economic benefits from the growth of renewables in Scotland over the next decade. Quite rightly there will continue to be a focus on the potential benefits which the growth of offshore wind can deliver and SSE Renewables has recently put its money where its mouth is by announcing our intention to invest £15 million directly in the proposed tower factory at Nigg.

“However, this report also rightly highlights Scotland’s circular economy and the strength of the supply chain across the technology spectrum including onshore wind and hydro power. As our industry continues to mature it will be increasingly important that we highlight the huge value that is available, not just through new project delivery but also from extracting maximum value from our existing projects as we invest in onshore wind and hydro life extension and repowering.”

Supply chain data for the document was provided by the Scottish Enterprise and Xodus Group Offshore Wind Cluster Builder.

Andy McDonald, Head of Low-Carbon Transition at Scottish Enterprise, said: Scotland has huge supply chain capabilities across renewables and the wider energy industry deftly illustrated in the latest Supply Chain Impact Report from Scottish Renewables. Scottish Enterprise supported this report with data from last year’s Scottish Offshore Wind Supply Chain Survey led by Xodus Group that showcased the expertise that exists across Scotland. The recent ScotWind Leasing round highlights the prospects for Scottish businesses and we will continue to support Scottish companies to capitalise on their expertise and seize such opportunities to secure offshore wind work and help meet global net-zero goals through low-carbon energy solutions.”

Read the Supply Chain Impact Statement.