Floating wind farm takes top-level membership at Caithness Chamber of Commerce
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
The company planning to build a wind farm off the north coast of Caithness has joined Caithness Chamber of Commerce as a diamond premier partner, the highest level of membership.
Pentland Floating Offshore Wind Farm (PFOWF) says it will support the chamber in its mission to create a vibrant business community in the north Highlands and maximise the opportunities the development will bring.
Project director Richard Copeland said the move would allow the team to engage further with the supply chain in Caithness and beyond, while chamber chief executive Trudy Morris pointed out that PFOWF will be "a transformational project for the region".
The wind farm will see seven turbines up to 300m high to their blade tips being built around 7.5km offshore from Dounreay.
It is being developed by Highland Wind Limited, which is majority owned by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) through one of its funds, and is due to be operational in 2026.
The 100MW development will be capable of providing clean energy to some 70,000 homes.
Mr Copeland said: “Highlighting our ongoing commitment to the region, our membership will allow us to engage further with the local supply chain in Caithness and beyond, providing opportunities to promote the wider benefits of the project both during construction and when operational.
“As part of our plans to work with local suppliers, we look forward to building a partnership with the chamber to deliver social and economic benefits wherever possible – from the development of our operations and maintenance base at Scrabster harbour to the wider infrastructure and support services the project will generate.
“We’ll also look to collaborate on skills initiatives through colleges to provide provision for apprenticeships and training that bring further employment to the area. Complementary to this is our education and training fund, which will assist local school students going on to study STEM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics] courses in further and higher education.”
Ms Morris said: “We are delighted to welcome Pentland Floating Offshore Wind Farm as a diamond premier partner.
"This cements the importance given to maximising opportunities for the local supply chain and wider community and is a significant commitment by the organisation. We look forward to working with the team to help realise the opportunities for businesses, communities and our young people.
“This will be a transformational project for the region as offshore wind developments such as the Pentland Floating Offshore Wind Farm play a key role in helping Scotland and the UK reach their net-zero targets as well as creating jobs and drive investment in skills and infrastructure.”
Earlier this week PFOWF said it had reached a "significant milestone" after submitting their offshore application to the government agency Marine Scotland.
Project development activities are being led by CIP’s development partner, Copenhagen Offshore Partners (COP). The project development team is based in Edinburgh.
