Nigg Skills Academy, Nigg
Infrastructure
www.hie.co.uk
www.hi-energy.org.uk
Developing a globally competitive
renewable energy industry
Kishorn Port
OVERVIEW
The development of appropriate locations is
critical to Scotland becoming the base for the
manufacture, construction and assembly of
offshore wind turbines and marine devices.
Suitable locations are also required to grasp
the opportunity to develop operations and
maintenance hubs for wind farms both in
Scottish Territorial Waters and those under
the Crown Estate’s Round 3 leasing process.
Scotland’s National Renewables Infrastructure
Plan (N-RIP) aims to support the development
of a globally competitive renewable energy
industry in Scotland by ensuring that a range
of appropriate sites are available in the right
locations to service this industry. The plan,
produced by Highlands and Islands Enterprise
and Scottish Enterprise, identified 11 key port
locations suitable for large-scale manufacturing
more ports suitable for supporting the industry
in their area. In addition, a marine cluster was
identified around the Pentland Firth and Orkney
Waters to support wave and tidal project
developments in the area.
These locations fall into a number of geographic
clusters which in addition to manufacturing
sites, also offer potential for installation
activities along with ongoing operation and
maintenance work that will be required for
the life of the offshore projects.
Wind Towers Ltd, Machrihanish
ARDERSIER
KISHORN
MACHRIHANISH
This site sits 24km (15 miles) east of
Inverness and has a principal area of
around 270 acres which has been
remediated, leaving a hard core level yard
for immediate development. This makes it
one of the largest development areas of any
site in the UK. With a 1,000m quayside and
a deep water harbour, Ardersier is one of the
key assets for the delivery of offshore wind
on the East coast of the UK and North West
Europe. The site was previously used for the
fabrication of large scale structures for the
oil and gas industry in the North Sea, and
employed over 4,500 people.
Located on the North West coast of
Scotland, Kishorn port is ideal for offshore
wind manufacturing, assembly and
fabrication, operations and maintenance
and decommissioning. The site was
previously used as a fabrication yard for oil
and gas platforms, and in the late 1970s,
the largest movable man-made structure in
the world – the 600,000 tonne Ninian Oil
Platform was produced and floated out from
the site. There is a quarry on site capable of
producing one million tonnes of aggregate,
ideally suited to the production of concrete
gravity base structures or concrete caissons.
Kishorn Port has a world class dry dock
facility approximately 150m in diameter
with dock gates that are 150m wide with
12m of water at high tide, 26 hectares of
hard standing, lay down areas and four
deep water quays are available.
Formerly a Ministry of Defence airbase, part
of the site is occupied by Wind Towers Ltd,
producing towers for both on and offshore
wind turbines. The site is situated on the
Kintyre peninsula, only 8km (5 miles) from
Campbeltown harbour, where significant
improvement work has allowed for deep
water access, enabling towers from the
Wind Towers Ltd facility or other devices
to be transported offshore to projects
off the West coast of Scotland, the Irish
Sea and beyond.
ARNISH
Previously used as an oil and gas fabrication
yard, Arnish Point is located 6km (4 miles)
from Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis in the
Outer Hebrides. Under ownership of the
Stornoway Trust and leased to Highlands
and Islands Enterprise, the site is being
redeveloped in phases. The first phase has
seen BiFab become a tenant on site, using
the facilities for the fabrication of subcomponents for jacket substructures for the
offshore wind sector. The site has also been
home to the manufacture of towers for the
Talisman Beatrice project, as well as parts for
Aquamarine’s Oyster wave energy device.
NIGG
Strategically placed at the northern
entrance to the Cromarty Firth, this 237
acre site is unique in that it is accessible
24/7 at all states of wind and tide and has
extensive deep water, sheltered anchorage,
extensive dry dock and diverse local support
facilities. The site is now owned by
the Global Energy Group and they are
transforming it into a modern, multi-user
facility serving a range of energy sectors,
including oil, gas and renewables.
Infrastructure
OIG Giant loading foundation for Andritz Hydro Hammerfest HS1000,
Arnish, Isle of Lewis
Nigg Skills Academy, Nigg
BiFab manufacturing facility, Arnish, Isle of Lewis
ARNISH CASE STUDY
NIGG SKILLS ACADEMY CASE STUDY
ENTERPRISE AREAS
The development of this major manufacturing
yard to support the expanding renewable
energy sector is a major focus of Highlands
and Islands Enterprise. The project includes recladding of the existing 12,000 square metre
fabrication facility using advanced technology
materials. The building’s tenants, BiFab, a
fabrication company operating in both the
renewables and oil and gas sectors, anticipate
that the upgrade will enable the facility to
grow their already important position in the
renewables and heavy engineering sectors.
The industry-led Nigg Skills Academy,
recently constructed at the Nigg Energy
Park and established with over £900,000
of public funding, will deliver training for
thousands of key workers across the oil, gas
and renewable energy sectors. The Global
Energy Group has provided and substantially
upgraded premises for the Academy, which
will operate initially as a 12-month pilot,
with funding from the Scottish Funding
Council (SFC), Skills Development Scotland
(SDS) and Highlands and Islands Enterprise.
Among a range of contracts, BiFab recently
completed the build of the full scale
prototype of Scotland’s most advanced tidal
turbine for ANDRITZ HYDRO Hammerfest,
formerly known as Hammerfest Strom, which
has now been deployed at the European
Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Orkney.
The Academy aims to start 290 Modern
Apprenticeships (MAs) in its first year and
to provide both MAs and general training
for some 3,000 people by 2015 for a
range of jobs including engineers, operators,
riggers, technicians and for general and
project management.
The Scottish Government announced in
2012 the creation of four Enterprise Areas
across 14 sites. The most significant of these
sites for the Energy sector in the Highlands
and Islands is the Low Carbon/Renewable
North Enterprise Area. This area comprises
sites at Nigg, Scrabster, Arnish, Lyness and
Hatston, all of which are now eligible for
a range of new business incentives and
actions to stimulate investment. These
incentives include business rate discounts
or enhanced capital allowances, new
streamlined planning protocols across
all sites; skills and training support; and
an international marketing campaign to
promote the sites. Nigg has Enhanced
Capital Allowances, the other four HIE
sites offer business rate discounts.
HIE is supporting the development of
Arnish as a long-term strategic location
for renewable supply-chain activities.
The NSA has been overwhelmed with over
2,500 applications since advertisements
were initially placed – with all those
applying guaranteed pre-training tests.
The industry-led model has the potential
to be delivered in various locations, with
different industry partners across Scotland.
The Outer Hebrides has an abundance
of natural resources, attracting developers
and investors to the area. The islands
hold an ambition to become a global
player in renewable energy generation
and manufacturing with supply chain
activities identified as a key driver for
developing the area’s economy.
For more information contact:
Colin Grant, Senior Development Manager, Energy – Infrastructure and Supply Chain
Highlands and Islands Enterprise
Tel: +44 (0)1463 244314 Email: [email protected]
www.hie.co.uk
www.hi-energy.org.uk
HIE, Cowan House, Inverness Retail & Business Park, Inverness IV2 7GF
Tel: +44 (0)1463 234171 Fax: +44(0)1463 244469
HIE INVESTMENTS
HIE has invested significantly in
infrastructure developments to support the
renewable energy sector in recent times.
Projects which have attracted funding from
HIE include the Wind Towers Ltd plant at
Machrihanish, the Arnish yard and facilities
for BiFab and significant upgrade works at
Scrabster Harbour. All of this work is carried
out to ensure that the ports and harbours
in the Highlands and Islands area are fit
for purpose, and able to offer attractive
propositions to both inward investors
and local businesses. HIE continues to
look at potential investments with a view
to maintaining the region’s world lead in
the development of the marine renewable
energy sector, and to provide an attractive
location in which to develop the offshore
wind industry.