Capital Investment Almost Trebled
Record funding of £150 million capital investment from the Scottish Government will support the growth of the offshore wind sector and support thousands of well-paid, green jobs across Scotland over the next decade.
Overall strategic investment of up to £500 million over five years is expected to boost private investment in the sector by up to £1.5 billion and unlock opportunities for growth in a variety of industries in key areas from ports, manufacturing and assembly work to major supply chain opportunities.
The 2025-26 Scottish Budget also sets out a commitment to establish an offshore wind hub in the North-East to provide an additional route for industry to engage with policy teams.
The investment follows the recent publication of the Green Industrial Strategy which highlighted Scotland’s wind economy as one of five priority areas to secure growth and investment.
The £150 million pledged for offshore wind in the Scottish Budget will create a 'sustainable supply chain' to benefit Scotland for years to come, a minister has saidhttps://t.co/iwCvQRGSqz
— The National (@ScotNational) December 12, 2024
Accelerating Scotland’s offshore wind capabilities presents enormous economic opportunities for our country.
ACTING NET ZERO & ENERGY SECRETARY, GILLIAN MARTIN
Our vast resources provide us with significant opportunity to create thousands of well-paid, green jobs across Scotland while accelerating our journey to net zero. We must maximise the economic benefits from offshore wind deployment if we are to ensure a just transition that takes our existing skilled workforce and supply chain with us.
This significant investment will help boost innovation and expertise in the sector, create a highly productive and competitive economy and deliver a sustainable supply chain that will benefit all of Scotland for decades to come.
We will work with industry and public sector partners to ensure we identify and deliver the best projects at pace.
This Budget is investing in measures to tackle the climate emergency in a way that maximises economic opportunities.
— Scottish Government (@scotgov) December 4, 2024
We will nearly treble investment in offshore wind to £150 million. pic.twitter.com/LAnQk0wFOM
The renewable energy industry is pleased that the Scottish Government will increase the next tranche of its funding commitment to the offshore wind supply chain. It is also encouraging to see the revenues from ScotWind directly utilised for clean industrial growth.
CLAIRE MACK, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OF SCOTTISH RENEWABLES
We will work closely with the Scottish Government to help shape how this funding can be used as part of the wider investment landscape in order to secure the flow of significant private capital into the infrastructure that will help Scotland optimise the opportunity brought by offshore wind.
Background
The £150 million capital investment in offshore wind, announced in the 2025-26 Budget, is year two of our five-year commitment to invest up to £500 million into the sector. It will support market certainty and create a highly productive, competitive offshore wind economy that supports thousands of new jobs, embeds innovation and boosts skills. It is supported by £12.5 million of resource funding.
The funding follows on from total capital and resource funding of £67 million in 2024-25.
The Offshore Wind Focus paper sets out the approach to prioritising investment to maximise the economic value for Scotland.
