First Minister opens floating offshore wind innovation site in Aberdeen

First Minister Humza Yousaf believes a new floating offshore wind innovation centre in Aberdeen can assist in making Scotland "world leaders" in the sector.

Travelling to the North East to officially open the new site located in the heart of the Energy Transition Zone, Mr Yousaf said he wants to "unleash the economic potential" of the country's renewable energy sector.

The £9 million National Floating Wind Innovation Centre (FLOWIC), delivered in partnership with ETZ Limited, will develop technology for floating offshore wind in the UK, with funding from Scottish Government and Innovate UK.

The project could see floating offshore wind to have the potential to deliver £43 million in UK gross value add (GVA) by 2050, creating over 29,000 jobs.

The First Minister said: “Delivering our net zero ambitions will require economic and societal transformation, with sustained investment, both public and private, to achieve it.

"We know the scale of the change needed. The National Floating Wind Innovation Centre embodies the spirit of collaboration that will drive the offshore wind industry forward.

Mr Yousaf added the project also "epitomises the relentless pursuit of science in helping to decarbonise our economy and represents a collective determination to solve the complex challenges posed by our net zero ambitions.

“We share a common objective to establish Scotland as a first mover in floating wind technology on an industrial scale and by seizing this advantage we can position Scotland among the world’s leaders in this ground-breaking industry as we maximise the opportunities of our Just Transition.”

FLOWIC provides facilities for companies to develop and de-risk many of the technologies essential to the future success of the sector, with significant demand from industry for use of these services to capitalise on the unrivalled pipeline of floating offshore wind projects in UK waters.

Andrew Jamieson, Chief Executive of the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult, said: “This facility represents a groundbreaking step forward in the commercialisation of floating offshore wind – a sector that will be critical to meeting our Net Zero targets.

“When you look at the projected global market demand for floating wind technology over the coming years, the opportunity is eye-watering; dynamic cables alone will be a more than £2bn global market over the next decade.

"Here in the UK we are well placed to play a leading role in that market by developing the supply chain to support the innovations that will bring this potential to life. Others are chasing the same prize though, so the time is right to make sure Scottish and UK companies are at the front of that race, and this facility is a key part of helping that happen.”