The profound and interlinked challenges facing Scotland’s energy future

As politicians return to Holyrood and Westminster after the summer break, industry leaders are this week gathering in Aberdeen for Offshore Europe, where the focus will be on the profound and interlinked challenges facing Scotland’s energy future.

It comes amid a growing and polarising debate on the role of oil and gas and offshore renewable energy – one cast as good, the other bad and vice-versa. It is designed to create delay, rather than building and taking action.

From workforce and regulatory uncertainty to investment volatility, both sectors have similar hurdles to overcome. They are also shaped by differing economic models, policy priorities, public expectations and ever-growing geopolitical pressures.

We’ve always known the energy transition would be affected by a clash of these shared challenges. But our primary objectives of energy security and resilience remain and we must deliver the transition, protect the workforce and build a positive legacy for communities.

We see this reflected in our ranks at Scottish Renewables, where two thirds of our members are supply chain businesses, many of which are deep rooted in Scotland’s oil and gas sector and bring a wealth of expertise to the deployment of offshore wind.

Many of these businesses, from ports and civil contractors to mooring specialists and vessel providers, have been able to achieve complementary orders books across both sectors. Record levels of clean energy generation and private investment have also been achieved thanks to concerted efforts from successive UK and Scottish governments.

Despite great progress, Scotland still has a long road ahead to realise its full energy potential. Our members and the wider supply chain recognise that. They need projects to sustain themselves today and a pipeline of work for tomorrow. This is how we avoid losing the vital skills, jobs and expertise we will need in the future.

That future is the £100 billion opportunity of offshore wind in Scotland over the next four decades. But as we lay the foundations to deliver most of this work beyond 2030, the oil and gas sector is declining faster than we can successfully get our offshore wind projects out in the water.

To maintain access to a healthy workforce and flow of private investment, a careful overlap across all operations in the North Sea is essential. However, blunt interventions like the Energy Profits Levy or proposals for zonal pricing – both hampering confidence and delaying the meaningful action we need – has made an already challenging environment much more difficult to navigate.

But we know the opportunity of offshore wind is there for the taking and we have the people ready to achieve it. Robert Gordon University believe nine out of ten oil and gas jobs have skills that can transfer to low-carbon sectors.

That is why the upcoming auction of renewable energy projects must maximise Scotland’s eligible offshore wind capacity and kickstart the deployment needed to secure employment. Powering the engines of growth also demands a more supportive investment regime across all offshore energy sectors.

So, as politicians get back to their desks and consider the coming Autumn Budget, top of minds must be striking a balance to deliver clean energy at pace and at scale while managing the decline of the North Sea basin sensibly. In return, we can get on with repurposing our world-class businesses and their workforce to take on tomorrow.

• By Claire Mack OBE, Chief Executive, at Scottish Renewables.

The article was first published in Energy Voice on September 3.