Coup for Highland green freeport bid as Aberdeen-based company joins Opportunity Cromarty Firth (OCF) with Zero-C Offshore saying that its aim of building the next generation of British-owned ultra-low emissions heavy lift vessels for the offshore wind farm sector are 'perfectly aligned' with OCF
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An Aberdeen-based offshore wind industry vessel owner has become the latest member of Opportunity Cromarty Firth (OCF), the consortium bidding for Green Freeport status for Inverness and the Cromarty Firth.
Winning over Zero-C Offshore is something of a coup for the OCF consortium as it will be competing against bids from Aberdeen, as well as the Clyde, the Firth of Forth, and Orkney.
Zero-C Offshore is in the process of building a fleet of next generation British-flagged and owned, ultra-low emissions heavy lift vessels for the offshore wind farm sector, which it says is “perfectly aligned” with the aims of OCF
The company says that it aims to build a zero-emission capable floating foundation installation vessel (FFIV) as part of its own mission of “spearheading the growth of UK-led clean shipping” in the sector.
And the company added the Cromarty Firth was “already synonymous with the industry,” with the extra-large jacket foundations being marshalled at the Global Energy Group’s deep-water Port of Nigg facility.
A spokesman for Zero-C Offshore said: “We are delighted to have become a member of Opportunity Cromarty Firth and are excited to be working with the consortium in its bid to secure Green Freeport status.
“The Cromarty Firth is an ideal location for the manufacture, staging and deployment of windfarm foundations and other elements for the numerous windfarm projects planned around the coast of Britain. We hope to make our fleet a feature of this ambitious initiative”
Speaking on behalf of OCF, Steve Chisholm of the Global Energy Group, said: “We are very pleased to welcome Zero–C Offshore to the OCF consortium.
“With the UK’s ambitious targets for offshore wind power generation, the need for the next generation heavy lift vessels they are set to deliver is crucial in achieving government milestones for offshore wind deployment and net-zero.”
The OCF consortium, launched in 2020, includes the ports of Cromarty Firth, Nigg and Inverness and also the Highlands’ largest air terminal and Inverness Airport Business Park.
It is backed by Inverness Chamber of Commerce and more than a dozen businesses, as well as public sector organisations, and academic bodies, including Highland Council and UHI.
The consortium’s bid for Green Freeport status, submitted to the Scottish and UK governments in June, is backed by 13 of the 17 winners of ScotWind seabed leases for new offshore windfarms.
The Cromarty Firth is widely regarded within the renewables sector as the only location in the country suitable for manufacturing equipment at the speed and scale needed to deliver cheaper electricity and energy security.
