News 
‘Sell-out Attendance’ at Offshore Wind Supplier Event
28 January 2010
More than 350 people attended the Share Fair in Aberdeen, the European oil capital, showing the rapidly growing interest in the developing offshore wind power industry, in which £100 billion will be invested over the next decade. Today’s event was the first of a series of supply chain events organised by The Crown Estate, aimed at demonstrating the scale of the opportunity.
A further 11 similar events will be held across the UK during February and March. Such was the demand that the event, in partnership with Scottish Enterprise, had to be expanded to accommodate all those wanting to participate
The event provided a marketplace to enable those keen to become involved in the industry to link up with the developers who are now making it happen in one-to-one meetings and networking.
More than 6000 turbines up to 180 metres high and with rotors 150 metres across will be sited off the UK coast - 1300 of them in Scottish waters, which command 25% of Europe’s wind resource. Annual capital expenditure will be 50% more that the oil and gas sector creating up to 70,000 jobs, 20,000 of them Scotland.
The Crown Estate, which has rights on the energy development of the UK’s seabed out to 200 miles, is making it available for offshore wind developers through a series of licensing rounds.
Round 3, announced earlier this year, involves nine development zones which will generate enough electricity to power more than half of Britain’s homes and include Scotland’s Firth of Forth and Moray Firth developments which will have a combined generating capacity of 4.8 GW. Scotland has a workforce with unrivalled skills in the developing technologies to capitalise on these opportunities and it has a major advantage in installation and commissioning as well as long term maintenance.
Dermot Grimson, Head of External Affairs for The Crown Estate, said he was very pleased with the response to the events; “Both Inverness and Glasgow are also oversubscribed - and people are now grasping the scale of the developments. “
He said that following the announcement of the Round 3 developers earlier this month they could now get them together with the supply chain and address issues like infrastructure.
“People are now beginning to appreciate the scale and the effort which will be required. The Crown Estate has invested in excess of £100 million in Round 3 to remove as many of the risks as possible which could get in the way of development.”
He said he was pleased that the Scottish Government, the UK Government, Scottish Enterprise and Development Agencies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland were all becoming involved.
Adrian Gillespie, Director of Energy and Low Carbon Technologies for Scottish Enterprise said his team has been overwhelmed by the response: “It has been really satisfying to see so many people from such a wide range of sectors coming along.
”Scotland is leading the way in setting targets for carbon reduction. We also have world-leading capabilities within our existing energy supply chains.
“Maximising the involvement of Scottish companies in offshore wind makes sense all round. It's good for the economy and it's good for offshore wind farm developers to have strong local partnerships in place. These events are a chance for businesses in Scotland to see the enormous growth opportunities that offshore wind deployment presents and what part their businesses may play in this.”
In his keynote address Lord Hunt, the UK Minister for Energy and Climate change said: “Following Round 3 the green light has really been pressed on offshore wind – the challenge is for the UK to take advantage.”
“This is a sector that will receive major investment. I think you can look to a stable, regulatory and financial regime for many years to come. As we come out of recession I cannot think of a sector in which we can have more confidence of a stable environment for growth, investment, skills and jobs.”
John Swinney MSP, Scottish Government Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth, emphasised that offshore wind could be as important to Scotland as oil and gas.
Ends
Notes to Editors
1. The Crown Estate:
- The Crown Estate is valued at over £7 billion, including substantial blocks of urban property, over 120,000 hectares (300,000 acres) of agricultural land in England, Scotland and Wales, and around half the foreshore, together with the seabed out to the 12 mile territorial limit
- The Crown Estate has two main objectives: to benefit the taxpayer by paying the revenue surplus earned from assets directly to the Treasury (in 2007/08 this amounted to £211.4 million); and to enhance the value of the estate and the income it generates
- As owners, managers and guardians of one of the world’s most important and diverse urban, rural and marine property portfolios, our work is underpinned by the three core values of commercialism, integrity and stewardship
2. The Crown Estate in Scotland:
- Reported a turnover of around £13.9m in 2007/8
- Generated a revenue surplus of £10.3m in 2007/8, paid directly to the Treasury for the benefit of all UK taxpayers
- Reported a capital value of £237m in 2007/8
- Direct and indirect investment in Scotland totalled £216.4m in 2007/8
3. The Pentland Firth Tidal Energy Project was established in 2007. The project partners are The Crown Estate, Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), Highland Council, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and the Scottish Government. The project vision is to support the development of a globally important marine energy industry in the area to benefit the local and national economies in a sustainable and environmentally aware way.
4. The Crown Estate has a key role in Scotland’s energy future. It owns almost all of the seabed out to 12 nautical miles, and has rights on energy development out to 200 nautical miles with responsibility for providing site options and leases for consented offshore wind, wave and tidal projects around Scotland and the rest of the UK.
5. The Crown Estate is already working with both the Scottish Government and UK Government on projects that have the potential to deliver significant energy supply, such as Round 3 of offshore wind (intended to deliver 25GW of energy for the UK) and Scottish offshore wind which could deliver further energy from Scottish territorial waters by 2012.
6. The Crown Estate is also working to support the commercialisation of marine technologies in Scotland and investing in research on the essential improvements to access to the transmission network that will be needed to ensure renewable energy targets are met.
7. The full list of supply chain events are:
· Aberdeen, 28 January 2010 (Scottish Enterprise)
· Inverness, 2 February 2010 (Highlands and Islands Enterprise)
· Glasgow, 4 February 2010 (Scottish Enterprise)
· Pembrokeshire, 11 February (Welsh Assembly Government)
· Chester-Le-Street, 17 February 2010 (One North East)
· Gatwick, 23 February 2010 (South East England Development Agency and EnviroBusiness)
· Loughborough, 25 February 2010 (Advantage West Midlands and East Midlands Development Agency)
· Doncaster, 26 February 2010 (Yorkshire Forward)
· Lowestoft, 4 March 2010 (East of England Development Agency
· Bristol, 9 March 2010 (South West RDA and Regen South West)
· Liverpool, 11 March 2010 (North West Development Agency and Envirolink Northwest)
· Belfast, 16 March 2010 (Invest NI)
For further press information or photo requests (including photos of the event) from The Crown Estate please contact:
Andrew Doe
Communications Manager
The Crown Estate
16 New Burlington Place
London W1S 2HX
Tel: 020 7851 5009
Fax: 020 7851 5128
Email: Andrew.Doe@thecrownestate.co.uk
www.thecrownestate.co.uk
Or Ian Coldwell on 0131 556 0770/07703 258834
