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The case for renewables

WITH SCOTLAND poised to catch the crest of a worldwide renewable energy wave, Dundee has been quietly getting itself into pole position to capitalise on the opportunities such a boom will offer.

Work has been going on since early in 2005 laying the foundations of a push for renewable energy jobs and investment in the city, but it was in May last year that the first official steps towards formalising the work were taken with the establishment of Dundee Renewables.

The high powered group brings together major players from the public and private sector to highlight Dundee's many qualities as a base for manufacturing and maintaining wind turbines and providing the perfect location for other forms of renewable energy generation and support.

Dundee Renewables now calls on the collective expertise of Dundee City Council, Scottish Enterprise and Forth Ports and has the support of other national agencies.

Leader of Dundee City Council Ken Guild said: "Dundee Renewables is committed to helping to make sure that the city is in the best possible position to make the most of the growing renewable energy sector.

"That means that we have been attending trade fairs, exhibitions and industry conferences making sure that the big players in renewables are fully briefed about the excellent facilities that already exist in Dundee.

"These include the deep water dock at the Harbour, the wave and tidal power of the River Tay, our acknowledged annual hours of sunshine and the ground-breaking research emerging from our universities.

"As Dundee is one of the closest ports to the offshore wind development zones recently identified by the Scottish Government and the Crown Estate just off the Tay, along with the outer Firth of Forth, we have an excellent opportunity to secure a large proportion of the employment that will be generated around construction, installation and future maintenance.

“I am not sure that there is yet a good understanding of the scale of the proposed developments offshore. Just the proposed fields off the Forth and Tay will need about 1000 offshore turbines. As a measure of the scale of these turbines then we need to think of roughly twice the height and size of the two turbines at Michelin.

"The installation work will take many years and then the fields have to be maintained for at least 25 years. No one site can provide everything that these offshore fields require and therefore this is truly a fantastic opportunity for both Dundee and the whole of Scotland.”

The facilities at the Port of Dundee make it an effective base for companies to service the burgeoning renewable energy sector. More than 25 hectares of development land is available for renewables at the port and in addition over 150 hectares of development land within the city could be utilised for renewable energy businesses that do not need a quayside location.

A pool of relevant highly skilled workers suitable for this industry and higher and further education facilities to continually support this need are also on hand in Dundee.

It is understood that it is these advantages that have led a number of major players in the field to make serious enquiries to Dundee Renewables about the possibilities on offer in the city.

Official figures suggest that 25% of Europe’s wind and tidal power could be produced by Scotland with Government targets aiming for 40% of the nation’s electricity to be produced from renewable energy by 2020. Wind, wave and tidal power could result in £60billion worth of investment and more than 60,000 new jobs.

Dundee aims to be a major player by then, but already the city is one of four Scottish locations chosen by Forth Energy as the site for a renewable energy plant.

The company is seeking consent to construct and operate a 120 Megawatt plant on a site at the Port of Dundee. It will use sustainably sourced biomass to generate power and heat and if approved work could start later this year.

More information on Dundee's renewable energy credentials can be found at www.dundeerenewables.com

Press Release Date: Thursday 04 February 2010