Forth Ports outlined its plans to create Scotland’s largest renewable energy hub on a 175-acre site at the Port of Leith, Edinburgh, to Thekla Walker, the Minister for the Environment, Climate Protection and the Energy Sector of the State of Baden Württemberg, Germany, when she visited the port today (8^th Nov 2021).

The Minister joined bp and EnBW, who previously announced a joint bid for a 2.9GW offshore wind lease in the North Sea as part of the ScotWind leasing round. The bid, which seeks to go further than only develop offshore wind, but help fuel Scotland’s wider energy transition, prompted an initial financial contribution towards the new renewable energy hub at Leith, with the commitment of more to come should the bp/ENBW bid be successful.

The £40 million renewable energy hub, which will see the construction of a floating wind enabled berth which will have in excess of 50 acres of logistics laydown space and a further 35 acres of quayside linked space dedicated to building green manufacturing bases and local content. This collaboration will also:

• Make a major contribution to Scotland achieving its 2045 net zero greenhouse gases target
• Secure the Firth of Forth as the driver for Scotland’s green energy transition
• Help spearhead Edinburgh’s and Scotland’s Covid-19 recovery plan
• Create the largest facility in Scotland, which can bring manufacturing opportunities, local jobs and economic growth in Scotland
• Support up to 1,000 high quality, long term direct jobs and about 2,000 indirect jobs

Following a tour of the port on a Forth Ports tug vessel, Thekla Walker, Minister for the Environment, Climate Protection and the Energy Sector of the State of Baden Württemberg said:

“The generation of renewable energy in combination with a massive reduction in our energy demand – efficiency first – is key to achieving our ambitious climate targets. This is the only path for us to phase out nuclear power by 2022 and fossil fuels by 2030. Transformation doesn’t stop at country borders. Therefore, as the Minister of the Energy Sector in Baden-Württemberg I welcome the commitment of EnBW here in Scotland and I very much appreciate its efforts in bidding in partnership with bp to build this offshore wind park for our carbon neutral future.”

 David Webster, Senior Port Manager at Forth Ports, said:

“Since announcing our plans for a renewable energy hub at Leith, the reaction from industry and from the community has been remarkable. It’s clear that there’s a real appetite for seeing Leith, and the whole Firth of Forth corridor, play a central role in Scotland’s energy transition to net zero. I’m thrilled that the Minister wanted to take time out of her busy COP26 schedule to visit Leith and see for herself our proposals to work with committed partners such as bp and ENBW to make these plans a reality.”

Georg Stamatelopoulos, Member of the Management Board at EnBW, said:

“Scotland is one of the most attractive markets for offshore wind, and EnBW is looking forward to further supporting the Port of Leith in its transition to a renewables hub and as an accelerator for a clean energy future for Scotland. As a fully integrated energy company and one of the leading offshore wind developers, EnBW aims to become climate-neutral by 2035. We will benchmark every decision and investment against this criterion, thereby firmly linking our future growth to sustainability.”

Felipe Arbelaez, Senior Vice President of Zero Carbon Energy at bp, said:

“Scotland is uniquely placed to lead the energy transition by harnessing the decades of skills and experience built up in the offshore oil and gas sector. If successful, the investment by bp and EnBW will support the Port of Leith to transform into a renewables hub and position Forth Ports for future growth in offshore wind in the North Sea. bp’s ambition is to use our capabilities as an integrated energy company to bring more clean energy and support a Scottish transition to net zero.”

 8 November 2021                                            – Ends –