The Port of Leith has signed a reservation and collaboration agreement with BP and EnBW as the marshalling port for their 2.9 gigawatts (GW) Morven offshore wind project.
Forth Ports’ £50m investment will see the facility in operation by the end of 2023, providing a bespoke offshore wind berth and a land bank for laydown and marshalling of offshore wind farm components.
With the capacity for local content manufacturing, as well as a base for businesses in the offshore wind supply chain, Scotland's largest renewables hub should create up to 1,000 long term direct jobs and around 2,000 indirect jobs.
Morven is set to be located 60km off the east coast of Scotland, awarded to BP and EnBW during the ScotWind leasing round. Once completed, the project is expected to have a generating capacity of 2.9GW, sufficient to power more than three million homes.
The Port of Leith is also a key part of the Forth Green Freeport bid, submitted to the UK and Scottish governments for assessment on 20 June. The bid has the potential to generate 50,000 new green jobs and act as a catalyst for new green technologies and renewable energy manufacturing, unlocking an estimated £6bn of private and public investment for Scotland.
Carole Cran, chief financial officer at Forth Ports, said: “This facility, and the Port of Dundee, will provide an integrated service offering to the offshore wind market, which will be instrumental in achieving the nation’s net zero targets over the next two decades.
“Our vision is to create a renewables centre of excellence for R&D, manufacturing and assembly that matches anything in northern Europe, with genuine export potential.”
Richard Haydock, project director for offshore wind at BP, said: “This is the next step for us to be able to deliver 2.9GW of clean energy.
“The project’s investment will support the Port of Leith with its transformation into a renewables hub and help position Forth Ports for future Scottish offshore wind projects.”
Céline Combé, EnBW project director, added: “We are looking forward to continuing working with the team at Forth Ports, and we are proud to keep contributing to the build out of renewable infrastructure in and for Scotland.”
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