SOWEC Unveils Stage 2 SIM Projects

Business development

February 21, 2024, by Adnan Memija

The Strategic Investment Model (SIM) Working Group of the Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council (SOWEC) has selected three projects to move into Stage 2 of its programme.

The Port of Cromarty Firth Expansion and the Port of Nigg Deepwater Quay Expansion projects will move into Stage 2 of the SIM programme. The Scottish Government revealed that a third supply chain investment project will move forward but did not disclose its identity for “commercial confidentiality reasons”.

On 24 January, SOWEC’s SIM Working Group announced the opening of Stage 2 of the SIM, which aims to help deliver transformational offshore wind supply chain growth in Scotland through innovative collaboration between offshore wind developers, the Scottish Government, enterprise agencies, and Crown Estate Scotland.

In Stage 2, the focus will be on how to ensure the selected projects have the confidence to make a Final Investment Decision (FID).

In testing its approach with the three initial projects, the SIM will be looking to better understand how different means of support can be brought together to help projects reach FID.

“The Scottish Government is determined to maximise the economic opportunities and benefits from our offshore wind potential. We are kick-starting the First Minister’s flagship commitment of up to £500 million over five years to anchor Scotland’s offshore wind supply-chain with investment of £67 million next financial year,” said the Scottish Government’s Energy Minister Gillian Martin.

“Moving these three projects – with a combined capital value of around £500 million – to the next stage of the Strategic Investment Model (SIM) is a significant step.”

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The wider SIM process is ongoing, with projects being assessed and supported to engage with offshore wind projects. The next step for all projects is to receive feedback from the SIM through sight of the expressions of interest submitted by offshore wind developers for further engagement.

INTOG developers have also been invited to join the SIM and work within this collaborative approach to support infrastructure and supply chain development.

Port of Cromarty Firth Expansion Project

The Port of Cromarty Firth is planning to expand its port to support the deployment of floating offshore wind farms by developing an additional five hectares of storage space to enable the construction of about 1 GW of floating offshore wind capacity per year.

According to the press release from Offshore Wind Scotland, the facility will be capable of supporting the assembly of floating wind foundations and the integration of floating offshore wind turbines.

This initial 5ha development is part of a wider plan to extend the existing 12ha of open storage capacity adjacent to a 372m quayside, currently being used to marshall the Moray West monopiles, by adding 20ha of laydown area and a 413m quay, in four phases.

Port of Nigg Expansion Programme

The project is planned to extend the existing West Quay at Nigg, creating a new ultra-deep water berth with a 160m quay at a water depth of 22m Lowest Astronomical Tide (LAT).

The expansion will result in a combined addition of 420m of quayside at Nigg, bringing the facility’s total quayside to 1,555m.

Also, the expansion includes the development of an expansive laydown and storage area spanning 46,860m², featuring a ground loading capacity of 50mt/m².