Real opportunities, practical challenges and regional collaboration were firmly in focus at the Forth & Tay Regional Showcase in Fife, which brought together businesses, industry leaders, academia and support organisations at the Fife Renewables Innovation Centre in Methil.
Delivered by Forth & Tay Offshore with support from Fife Council's Economic Development Team ( InvestFife), the showcase reflected the growing momentum around offshore wind across the region and the role local businesses can play within Scotland’s expanding renewable energy sector.
Discussions throughout the day highlighted the scale of opportunity emerging across the Forth & Tay region and beyond, with delegates hearing directly from organisations leading activity across offshore wind, innovation, skills and infrastructure.
Forth & Tay Offshore is a regional partnership supporting the growth of offshore renewable energy across Scotland’s east coast by connecting businesses, industry, academia and support organisations. The regional showcase series has been created to strengthen collaboration, highlight regional capability and support future offshore wind growth.
Sessions from Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult, Fife College and Forth Green Freeport explored supply chain opportunity, routes to market for SMEs, workforce planning and the importance of aligning skills and investment to future sector demand.
Alongside the opportunities identified, there was also honest conversation around the practical challenges businesses face, including competition, scaling capability and the pace of delivery required across major offshore wind projects.
A major focus of the programme was showcasing businesses already delivering across the offshore wind sector. Case studies from PICT Offshore, Briggs Marine, ARB Wind and International Testing Services demonstrated the depth of capability operating within the regional supply chain, covering fabrication, marine operations, testing, inspection and quality assurance.
“It was inspiring to hear success stories from PICT Offshore, Briggs Marine and International Testing Services. The event highlighted both the scale of opportunity and the challenges businesses face in scaling and delivering within offshore wind.” Said Susie Randford, Knowledge Transfer Partnership.
Businesses also connected directly with organisations supporting innovation, research, skills and business growth, including InvestFife, Business Gateway Fife, Innovate UK Business Connect, Fife College, Forth Green Freeport, Heriot-Watt University and SGN.
“Great to feel the buzz for offshore wind in Fife. There is a lot happening across the region and strong support available to help businesses get involved.” Highlighted Callum Reid, Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult
Attendees also visited the SGN H100 Fife viewing platform, providing a closer look at the UK’s first green hydrogen network project and reinforcing the links between offshore wind, hydrogen and low carbon innovation.
As the first in a wider programme of regional spotlight events, the Fife showcase demonstrated the value of bringing industry, supply chain and support organisations together to help turn offshore wind opportunity into long term economic growth across the region.
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