Arnish boost for offshore renewables work

Albert Allan said it was "an important milestone for our operations at Arnish".

The Arnish yard in Lewis has been given a further boost by being selected as a partner in a major initiative to maximise prospects for securing work from the offshore wind industry – locally, nationally and globally.

Navantia UK, who now own the yard, announced that Arnish is one of 12 businesses which will participate in an Islands and Coastal Communities initiative created by the Fit for Offshore Renewables (F4OR) programme.

The programme’s objective is “to support the development of an increasingly competent, capable and competitive UK offshore renewable energy supply chain – maximising opportunity for the UK supply chain, both domestically and globally”.

Developers of four major offshore wind projects - including Spiorad na Mara to the west of Lewis - will work with the selected companies to open up supply chain opportunities. Since its inception in 2019, the F4OR programme has supported more than 150 companies who have, on average, experienced “an impressive 28 per cent increase in turnover through new contracts”. Many participants have gone on to become market-leading suppliers in the offshore wind sector.

Albert Allan, general manager at Arnish, said: "Being selected for the F4OR programme is an important milestone for our operations at Arnish. This opportunity comes at a perfect time as we accelerate our plans to develop this facility into a world-class centre for renewable energy manufacturing." Navantia said that the selection of Arnish for the programme supports a vision for its Scottish operations. “The company is committed to transforming this Western Isles site into a centre of excellence for offshore energy infrastructure, leveraging its global expertise in both maritime and renewable energy sectors.” Dr Davood Sabaei, F4OR project manager, said: "We're pleased to welcome this new cohort of 12 ambitious companies from Scottish islands and coastal communities for the first time. The region has a wealth of innovation we're eager to nurture and enable within the offshore wind supply chain.

“Over the next 18 months of the rigorous programme, the selected companies will work with our network of specialist advisers, receiving tailored support to help them enter the offshore renewable energy supply chain and win business."

The F4OR programme was established by the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult, one of the UK Government “catapult” initiatives to “bridge the gap between Government, universities, research institutions and innovative businesses of all sizes.”