Concerns have been raised that floating offshore wind orders for Scottish ports are not coming through at the pace expected, despite vast infrastructure improvements.
Published 12th Oct 2026, 05:00 BST
Fears have emerged that Scotland’s ports could become “stranded assets” despite SNP ministers committing half a billion pounds to upgrade infrastructure after orders for floating wind farms failed to materialise.
In 2023, the Scottish government pledged up to £500m over five years to upgrade ports and build up offshore wind supply chains through its Offshore Wind Investment Programme (OWIP).
But concerns have been raised over a lack of orders coming through to port operators for renewables projects, particularly floating wind developments, which have not materialised at the pace first promised by the Scottish government.
Investment has taken place at a series of ports, particularly in the Highlands and North East. In July 2025, Japanese multinational, Mitsui, acquired Nigg port in the Highlands. But a senior source told The Scotsman that smaller floating wind contracts were now being prioritised over more ambitious projects due to the risk of larger proposed developments.
READ MORE: Scotland's £50bn floating wind industry in crisis talks as contracts cull expected after SNP over-ambition
“The supply chain is not ready to manage bigger projects”, the source said.
“What we are chasing right now is a smaller project”, they added.
“Right now, these biggest projects are very risky for us.”
A senior insider in the Scottish renewables sector praised the Scottish government for its investment in ports, but warned there was “a little bit of unease” over the lack of floating wind orders coming forward.
The source said: “The Scottish Government has done a really good job at putting public money into ports then leveraging even more private finance. Andersier, Nigg, Montrose, Aberdeen. The sector called on the government to do that.
“One of my biggest concerns is that they become stranded assets in that you’ve put public money in and you’re not realising the value because the projects are not coming.”
Laura Fidao, the investment director at the Scottish National Investment Bank (SNIB), which places public money into projects including renewable energy developments and infrastructure, warned a “crystal ball” was needed to predict what would be needed in the decades ahead.
READ MORE: Warning window closing for Scotland to lead world on floating offshore wind as 'cumulative risks' fuel jitters
Speaking at the offshore floating wind conference in Aberdeen, Ms Fidao added: “It takes a lot of time, money and investment, so lining all those up at the right time is difficult.
“Each port needs hundreds of millions to build out the infrastructure needed Then you multiply it by multiple ports needing it for different purposes. You also don’t want to overlap too much. It’s quite a big number.
“Us and the national wealth fund have financed the build out of Ardersier Port. We want to see that port being used by these projects - that’s quite important. There’s a timing thing. We can’t start building out the ports all at once.”
Alison Wilson, managing director of Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport, has stressed that “the floating offshore wind opportunity for us is about landing the manufacturing, the engineering and the long-term employment here”.
.jpg?trim=46,0,46,0&crop=&width=640&quality=65)
“Our ports are central to that”, she added.
Japanese giants, Sumitomo, has invested £350 million in a subsea able manufacturing facility at the Port of Nigg as part of the supply chain scale up of the offshore wind sector.
READ MORE: Oil and gas isn't the only North Sea crisis - politicians need to stop squabbling and focus on renewables
Ms Wilson said: “We’ve got investment happening. We’ve got a strong pipeline of interest but what we absolutely need is greater clarity on the floating wind pipeline to help turn that interest into activity.
“These are big, chunky sums of investment ahead of time. The timescale factor is really critical here, so that we’ve got that confidence in when those commercial returns are going to come.”
She added: “For the Highlands, this is a once in a generation opportunity for us to reverse the effects of depopulation.
“For us, it’s about making sure that we’re encouraging foreign direct investment for companies to locate here, but also they are employing, they’re looking at local content they’re procuring and growing here in the UK.
“The knock-on effect on that is around then creating the demand and the visibility in the pipeline that creates investment surety for the housing developers and those other wider conditions that need to fall into place as well.”
READ MORE: Warning Scottish floating wind projects could be 'delayed or cancelled' under energy plan pressure
John Black, ports logistics and customs manager for Floatation Energy, which is bringing forward the proposed Green Volt floating wind project in partnership with Norwegian firm Vårgrønn, acknowledged ports were expecting orders to come through from developers.
He said: “The ports were told to invest in that infrastructure and be ready for us. They’ve kept up their side of the bargain. It’s now up to the developer community to deliver and keep our side of the bargain.”
The visual scene of turbine jackets towering over the skyline at the Port of Leith, for the Inch Cape development, will continue into next year - but no further orders have ben made public.
A spokesperson from Forth Ports said: "Commercial-scale floating wind is still at an early stage of development. However, Forth Ports continues to support the case for the industry and the opportunity for the group's assets to play a key role in value chain from this developing industry.
"Our specialist facilities in Leith and Dundee are currently delivering the marshalling and mobilisation ready for the installation campaign of the Inch Cape Offshore Wind Project. This will continue into 2027 and, across the groups ports, we are actively working on future opportunities in the offshore wind and other sectors."
Scottish Labour economy spokesperson, Daniel Johnson, said: “Scotland has the ports, the skills and the natural resources to be a world leader in offshore wind. But that potential must translate into contracts, manufacturing and good jobs here in Scotland.
“Public investment must be backed by a clear plan to secure the pipeline of projects and ensure Scottish businesses and workers benefit from the transition.”
Scottish politics has never been more important - get The Steamie newsletter today
Liam Kerr, Scottish Conservative energy spokesman, added: “Freeports were an excellent example of the UK Conservative government and Scottish government ministers working together to bring jobs and investment to Scotland.
“However, it appears the SNP have been moving at a snail's pace ever since and have not delivered the work required to support this facility.
“Ministers must explain what work is in the pipeline and how these ports will benefit.
“Otherwise, Scotland's energy sector and wider economy will once again be left lagging behind the rest of the United Kingdom.”
SNP energy minister, Stephen Gethins, said: “Within our limited powers, the Scottish government is doing everything we can to realise Scotland’s offshore wind potential with a £500m commitment to support offshore wind ports and supply chain.
.jpeg?crop=3:2,smart&trim=&width=640&quality=65)
“The results of this can already be seen in the construction of Sumitomo’s subsea cable manufacturing plant at Maraen Port of Nigg, Port of Leith’s central role in the construction of the Inch Cape offshore windfarm, and Port of Montrose, which is set to become one of the world's largest offshore wind operations and maintenance hubs.
“What we need now is a UK government willing to back the sector, to secure jobs, investment, energy security and economic growth that can benefit communities for generations to come.”