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Dundee Spotlight brings offshore wind industry, businesses and skills together

More than 120 people came together in Dundee this week for a Forth & Tay Offshore Spotlight event showcasing the offshore wind activity, capability and opportunities already taking shape across the city and wider region.

Held at the Innovation Hub at Michelin Scotland Innovation Parc on Wednesday 30 September, the event brought together offshore wind developers, industry, local businesses, infrastructure providers, education and training organisations, researchers and regional partners.

Twelve businesses and organisations exhibited during the day, while 10 apprentices from Dundee & Angus College also joined the event.

The Spotlight was designed to give businesses practical insight into offshore wind activity in Dundee, while creating opportunities to speak directly to the organisations delivering projects, developing infrastructure, recruiting and training the future workforce and looking for solutions to industry challenges. This reflected the original aims of the event, which included showcasing Dundee’s capability, improving understanding of future opportunities and helping create new business relationships.

Impact Survey launched in Dundee 

Cllr Steven Rome of Dundee City Council opened the event and launched the latest Forth & Tay Offshore Impact Survey Report.

The launch was followed by a series of focused sessions looking at the different elements needed to deliver offshore wind from Dundee.

Sue Vincent from Inch Cape Offshore Wind, Callum Hogan from Forth Ports and Kenny Robertson from Vestas discussed project delivery, port infrastructure, industry requirements and the opportunities for businesses looking to become part of the offshore wind supply chain.

Skills and workforce formed another important part of the programme. Stephen Swinley from Dundee & Angus College, Nick Jordan from Vestas and Coast Training explored current training provision, workforce requirements, future demand and how industry and training providers can work together to develop the skills the sector needs.

The programme also put Dundee-based capability in the spotlight.

Joe Matthews from Ace Aquatec and John Wilson from Albacom shared their companies’ experience and capabilities, while Lorna Bell from Dundee Airport explored the role aviation, connectivity and specialist services can play in supporting offshore wind operations.

Innovation and collaboration were also brought into the discussion through SWIFT, Scottish Wind Innovation for the Forth and Tay. The four-year programme brings Forth & Tay Offshore together with the University of Edinburgh and the University of Dundee to connect research expertise with real-world industry needs and accelerate offshore wind innovation.

Making space for direct conversations

A key part of the Dundee Spotlight was creating time for delegates to speak directly to industry and to each other.

Rather than filling the programme with presentations, interactive roundtables focused on project opportunities, ports and infrastructure, industry operations, skills and workforce, innovation and collaboration, and aviation and logistics.

Delegates could ask questions, discuss challenges, share experience and explore potential opportunities directly with organisations including Inch Cape Offshore Wind, Forth Ports, Vestas, Dundee & Angus College, the SWIFT programme and Dundee Airport.

An adjoining exhibition provided another opportunity to make connections throughout the day, with Ace Aquatec, Albacom, Vestas, Coast Training, Forth & Tay Offshore, Dundee & Angus College, Energy Skills Partnership, Dundee Airport, Invest in Dundee, MEP Tech, the SWIFT programme represented by the University of Dundee and Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm taking part.

The 10 Dundee & Angus College apprentices attending the Spotlight also brought the future workforce directly into conversations about the opportunities the sector could create across the region.

Offshore wind activity on the ground

The afternoon gave delegates the opportunity to move from talking about Dundee’s offshore wind capability to seeing some of it first-hand.

One group travelled by Ember electric bus from MSIP to the Port of Dundee, where Rob Yates from Vestas led a tour of the activity taking place around the Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm.

The timing offered delegates a striking view of the scale of the project.

The Port of Dundee will host the components for all 72 of Inch Cape’s Vestas V236-15MW turbines. A total of 576 components will be offloaded at the Port, including 288 tower sections, 216 blades and 72 nacelles. Each turbine has three blades measuring 115.5 metres long. More than 130 personnel will work from the Port’s 170,000 square metre yard as components are received, marshalled, assembled and commissioned ahead of load-out and installation.

The scale of the activity provided a very tangible backdrop to the conversations that had taken place throughout the morning about supply chains, infrastructure, skills and business opportunities.

A second group visited Coast Training, where Steve Foley led a tour of facilities supporting offshore safety, workforce preparation and skills development.

Building on Dundee’s offshore wind track record

The Inch Cape activity builds on an existing offshore wind track record in Dundee.

The Port of Dundee previously served as the marshalling and pre-assembly base for the Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind farm. Turbine towers were assembled at the Port, with nacelles and blades also handled through Dundee before transportation offshore.

That experience, together with the activity now underway for Inch Cape, sits alongside a wider mix of local business capability, training provision, transport and infrastructure, innovation and research expertise. Bringing those different elements together is central to Forth & Tay Offshore’s wider ambitions for the region. The cluster works on behalf of its members to promote regional supply-chain capability, help businesses access opportunities and encourage collaboration, investment in skills and innovation. Its 2030 vision is for the region to have a thriving, comprehensive and internationally competitive offshore energy supply chain serving local, national and international projects.

A huge thank you goes to Natalie McKnight and the team at MSIP for their support in hosting the event, as well as all of the speakers, exhibitors, roundtable hosts, tour hosts and delegates who contributed to the day.

The Dundee Spotlight demonstrated both the scale of activity already underway and the breadth of capability available across the city.

The opportunity now is to build on what is already here, connect more businesses and people with the sector, and turn today’s offshore wind activity into longer-term opportunity for Dundee and the wider Forth and Tay region.