Powering the UK’s Green Future
Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm components arriving at the Port of Leith, January 2025.
Stuart Wallace, Chief Executive Officer
| Forth Ports
With an ambition to deliver economic growth, the UK’s industrial strategy must have ports at its heart to secure economic growth, energy security and global leadership in offshore wind, hydrogen and sustainable fuels.
The UK is at a crossroads.
With global markets combining economic growth with a shift towards sustainable energy and low carbon solutions, the UK Government has a unique opportunity to use industrial strategy to strengthen critical supply chains in key growth sectors – offshore wind, hydrogen and sustainable fuels.
UK ports, as industrial hubs, are central to this transformation.
With decisive action from this parliament, we stand to gain significant economic benefits over our overseas competitors, including more skilled jobs and stronger long-term energy security.
The Government’s developing Industrial Strategy presents a crucial opportunity to scale up British offshore renewables, while giving ports and energy developers the policy certainty needed to commit to investment.
The proposed foundational sectors of the Industrial Strategy align closely with the needs of UK ports.
Ports, especially those with large quayside-adjacent land, are natural locations for port-centric industrial development.
They provide essential access to consumer and green energy markets, skilled labour, multimodal transport links and grid connectivity.
Investment interest is growing, particularly from low-carbon industries needing significant land and infrastructure.
This includes manufacturers of offshore energy components like turbine blades and foundations, as well as industries that rely on Scotland’s energy backbone for production, such as steel and hydrogen.
It is critical to recognise that ports are more than logistics hubs; they are also key landowners and industrial facilitators, creating economic benefit for the communities in which they operate.
This dual role must be fully utilised to drive the UK’s energy transition.
However, a fundamental challenge remains: the language gap between industry, ports and government.
The term "port" is often misunderstood as a transit point when, in reality, it is also a centre of industrial activity.
This distinction matters because without the right policy framework, we risk underestimating the potential of ports to support manufacturing, energy generation and industrial expansion.
The UK’s offshore wind success to date is a remarkable achievement.
In 2024, wind power overtook gas as the country’s largest electricity source, now accounting for 30% of the energy mix, up from less than 10% in 2014.
The Government’s ambition to become a clean energy superpower includes a target of 95% low-carbon electricity by 2030, with offshore wind providing more than half and supporting 100,000 jobs, according to NESO’s Clean Power 2030 report.
To achieve this, we must strengthen the offshore wind supply chain by investing in infrastructure, supporting domestic manufacturers and attracting international investment.
The results of the AR7 auction round; the Clean Industry Bonus in the autumn; and initiatives like the National Wealth Fund will be critical in driving this progress.
Securing global contracts and enhancing industrial capabilities will deliver jobs, economic growth and energy security, while ensuring long-term competitiveness in the renewable energy sector.
With billions already invested by developers in the North Sea and in key ports like Leith and Dundee – where Forth Ports alone has invested nearly £200 million without public support – strategic action is needed to maintain the UK’s leadership.
This means securing more consents, more contracts for difference and ensuring a strong project pipeline to fuel offshore wind manufacturing, assembly and integration activity at British ports.
All of this can be achieved through reducing regulatory drag and a focused delivery from the planning and marine licensing system.
As a Scottish-based company with strategic assets on the Thames, Forth and Tay, Forth Ports is committed to ensuring that the UK capitalises on the immense opportunities of offshore wind, hydrogen and sustainable fuels for generations-to-come.
Now is the time for the Government to act.
