Ports Review - Offshore Wind

Scotland has always been at the forefront of the green energy revolution, and it is now set to further exploit its huge potential for offshore wind.

Last year's ScotWind auction of seabed options off the coast was a huge success, setting the renewables landscape for the future, supporting a potential generating capacity of up to 27.6 gigawatts of power across 20 projects and netting over £700 million for the public finances. In total, ScotWind attracted 88 bids, with nearly all the leased sites off the east, north east or northern coasts. The proposals are for both fixed bottom and floating wind farms to be built in the future.

Offshore wind growth presents a major opportunity for Scotland's ports. As Jamie Grant, Partner at the Scottish legal firm Shepherd and Wedderburn and an authority on ports and harbours, points out, this has become a mature energy sector in short order: and the turbines are getting increasingly bigger and are moving out into deeper