Scotland selects 10 SIM priority projects to support offshore wind

The Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council (SOWEC) on Tuesday updated on the Strategic Investment Model (SIM) projects, saying that a total of 10 have been selected as priority projects, including a facility of China's Mingyang Smart Energy Group Ltd.

Three priority projects were announced in February as SIM pilots, these are Port of Nigg, Port of Cromarty Firth and an unnamed supply chain project. Another seven priority projects have now been added to this list. The 10 projects, two of which remain confidential, include five port facilities, four supply chain proposals and one equipment project.

The priority projects are assessed as of high relevance and interest to developers. A further 19 projects are ranked as progress projects with good or medium interest and relevance to developers. The announcement says that SIM will support these projects to self-facilitate collaborative engagement with developers, and also bring them together at a marketplace style event later in 2024.

SOWEC is a collaboration between the Scottish public sector and the offshore wind industry, while SIM seeks to identify investment priorities needed to deliver the ScotWind and wider offshore wind pipeline. The programme launched a call for proposals for port infrastructure and top tier supply chain projects in May 2023. It received 45 proposals, of which 38 projects concluded Stage 1.

“Out of the 45 projects that applied to the SIM, we now have 10 priority projects identified. These are the projects seen as offering best opportunities for collaborative approaches between offshore wind developers, Government Agencies, investors, ports and supply chain companies to unlock investment,” said Gillian Morrison, Supply Chain Development Manager at Crown Estate Scotland, and Chair of the SIM Working Group.

“A further 19 projects are also being selected to progress into Stage 2. This wider group also offer benefits and opportunities for collaboration,” Morrison further commented.

"In the weeks and months ahead, SOWEC will work alongside the different projects, agencies and offshore wind developers. Our goal is to help each project accelerate and get the confidence it needs to reach final investment decision and commit to growth in Scotland," Morrison added.

Below is a list of the progress projects, three of which remain confidential.

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