Seven local charities and community groups from Cockenzie & Port Seton and Prestonpans have been awarded funds from the latest tranche of Inch Cape Construction Fund grants.

The latest grants, totalling more than £10,000, went to a range of organisations with varied areas of focus from the re-launch of the 3 Harbours Art Festival and free art workshops via Shorelark Arts CIC, to first-aid courses provided by Dads Work for fathers and male caregivers, and the Grow your Own Routes programme supporting young people impacted by a loved one’s substance abuse.

Funds were also provided to the Cockenzie Star Girls Football Club for new equipment and kit to enable the young players to continue to enjoy the benefits of being in a sports team and to the Dalkeith and Monktonhall Brass Band for an upgraded rehearsal space.

A total of more than £40,000 has now been distributed by the fund to 26 separate community groups, organisations and charities, supporting people and enabling activities throughout the area surrounding the Inch Cape onshore substation construction site at Cockenzie.

The Inch Cape Construction Fund is managed by Foundation Scotland. It was established to support projects that have the specific objectives to either tackle the effects of poverty and inequality, improve the environment or to encourage sustainability within the community council areas of both Prestonpans and Cockenzie & Port Seton.

Applications for grants of up to £2000 will be considered on a rolling basis, so eligible groups can apply at any time.

Those groups awarded grants in this latest tranche are listed below, along with the amount provided and what it has contributed towards. The full list of groups which have received grants from the Inch Cape Construction Fund to date can be found on the Inch Cape website construction fund page.

Once constructed, Inch Cape will be one of the largest offshore wind farms in Scotland. Its offshore site is in the North Sea, 15 kilometres from the Angus coastline, and the green electricity generated by the wind farm’s 72 turbines will be transmitted 85 kilometres to a new substation now under construction on the site of the former coal-fired Cockenzie Power Station in East Lothian.

ICOL, owner of Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm, is an equal joint venture between Edinburgh-based renewable and sustainable energy company, Red Rock Renewables Limited and Ireland’s leading energy company, ESB.

Organisations awarded funds in the latest grants round:

Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm has signed an agreement with Vestas taking the project a step closer to being the first in the UK to install the manufacturer’s state-of-the-art 15 megawatt (MW) turbines.

The signing is for the supply, installation and commissioning of a total of 72 turbines together with a long-term comprehensive service and warranty agreement followed by a tailor-made operational support agreement. Each of the turbines will have 115 metre blades and a rotor diameter of 236 metres.

The 1080MW Inch Cape project is located in the North Sea, 15 kilometres from the Angus coast, and will connect into the UK national grid at the site of the former coal-fired power station at Cockenzie, East Lothian.

Inch Cape is already well underway with the construction of the onshore substation and the offshore platform at the Smulders yard in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear.  The development is far advanced with the project team working to reach financial close later this year, at which point Inch Cape will move into full construction.

Inch Cape Project Director, John Hill said: “We are delighted to be working with Vestas on deployment of these latest fully certified state-of-the-art turbines.

“When operational, these turbines will deliver more than 5TWh of renewable electricity each year, making a vital contribution to the UK’s energy security and emissions reduction targets.”

President of Vestas Northern & Central Europe, Nils de Baar said: “We are very pleased to have signed this conditional agreement for a pivotal project for Scotland’s offshore wind industry, and our team is genuinely excited to contribute to this milestone together with ESB and Red Rock Renewables.

“Inch Cape will have a significant impact on the UK’s sustainable energy future and we are proud to stand at the forefront of this transition. Our thanks go to our partners at ESB and Red Rock Renewables for their trust and excellent collaboration.”

Turbine installation is programmed to start in 2026 using one of Cadeler’s newbuild M-class wind turbine installation vessels.

Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm is owned by Inch Cape Offshore Limited, an equal joint venture between ESB and Red Rock Renewables.

Photo: The Vestas V236-15.0MW wind turbine in operation at the Østerild Wind Turbine Test Centre in Northern Jutland, Denmark.

Inch Cape Offshore Limited, developer of the Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm, has signed a long-term route-to-market power purchase agreement (PPA) with SSE Energy Markets.

Experienced market participant SSE Energy Markets will offtake 50 percent of the wind farm’s electricity output and associated environmental benefits for a period of at least 15 years.

This agreement provides Inch Cape with a reliable route to market for its clean electricity from early generation. Full commercial operation is expected in 2027.

The wind farm will comprise 72 turbines sited in the North Sea off the Angus coast with a total installed capacity of 1080 megawatt (MW). The project is fully backed by UK government contracts for difference (CfD) and was one of the winning projects in the most recent allocation round.

Construction of the project’s onshore substation is well underway in Cockenzie, East Lothian with the offshore substation jacket and platform being fabricated at the Smulders’ yard in Wallsend, North East England.

The project’s financial close is set for later this year.

Inch Cape Offshore Wind Limited is a 50/50 equal joint venture between ESB and Red Rock Renewables.

Inch Cape’s in-progress offshore substation platform

Inch Cape has launched a new updated supply chain database for suppliers to register their interest in working with the project and its contractors.

The new database has an extensive range of goods and services options for suppliers to choose when registering, enabling them to better reflect key capabilities, for example technical and consultancy, professional services, engineering design, maritime logistics or component monitoring.

It also gives registrants the opportunity to provide a high-level boilerplate description of their company ‘at a glance’ and detail their experience on previous offshore wind or related infrastructure or construction projects.

Importantly the information entered becomes live with an individual branded entry that can be reviewed and updated by the company themselves to ensure the most recent information is presented. This feature means companies are visible to everyone who uses the site so it is in effect a ‘shop window’ for all who register.

The visibility also means contractors seeking potential suppliers for scopes of work and tenders can search the whole database using the required specific goods and services categories, locations or key words.

Those who register will receive information and news about the project including on upcoming events and supply chain-related news.

Inch Cape would encourage all suppliers with an interest in working on the project to register here and for contractors or anyone across the supply chain seeking goods or services, to make use of the search functionality.

It is hoped the new Inch Cape Database becomes a valuable tool for both the suppliers registered and the contractors seeking to add companies to their tender lists.

Register for database  –  Search for a supplier

Inch Cape Offshore Limited, developer of the 1080 megawatt (MW) Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm has been awarded a contract for difference (CfD) in the UK Government’s latest allocation round (AR6).

Inch Cape is one of Scotland’s largest offshore wind farms and will be located in the North Sea off the Angus coast. It will connect to the national grid via an 85 kilometre offshore cable route and through an onshore substation which is currently under construction at Cockenzie in East Lothian.

Inch Cape Project Director, John Hill said: “The award of the CfD is an important milestone for the project as we continue to work closely with our key suppliers and stakeholders towards achieving financial close later this year.”

The AR6 award of 266MW will top-up the project’s previous CfD award from Allocation Round 4.

Inch Cape will be an around £3 billion investment in the UK’s energy infrastructure and will create thousands of jobs during construction. Once operational it will generate more than 5TWh of renewable electricity each year and make a substantial contribution to the UK’s energy security.

Inch Cape Offshore Wind Limited is a 50/50 equal joint venture between ESB and Red Rock Renewables.

Edinburgh College and Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) setting out how they will work together in partnership to deliver STEM initiatives for students and help them develop skills needed to work in roles vital for the future of the offshore wind sector.

With more than 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind in the Scottish pipeline, thousands of new workers will be required to bring them to reality.

This MOU aims to provide a platform to raise awareness of the opportunities and equip students with some of the necessary skills to help build out the projects and support Scotland’s target of net zero emissions by 2045.

Edinburgh College, with its more than 27,000 students, will implement a broad range of initiatives to help to spark interest in STEM, build skills capability, and support students to select promising career paths.

Edinburgh College’s Head of School Ron Eldridge said: “This is an excellent opportunity for the College and we are delighted to be working in partnership with Inch Cape to deliver training in wind technologies.

“The learning will support development of the future workforce and introduce people to green alternatives in meeting net zero.”

The initiatives will be funded and supported by the 1.1GW Inch Cape, one of Scotland’s largest current infrastructure projects. Inch Cape is sited 15 kilometres from the Angus coast and the power it generates will be transported via 85-kilometre-long export cables to a new substation being built in East Lothian at the site of the former Cockenzie Power Plant.

Inch Cape’s Stakeholder and Communications Manager Sue Vincent said: “For the offshore wind sector to see continued success, a local skilled workforce will be vital to support projects throughout each phase of their lifetime.

“This partnership with Edinburgh College includes direct investment in creating education materials and resources that will build skills identified as vital to the future success of the sector.”

The education initiatives will be delivered to young people and also those returning to education or transitioning from other industry sectors.

They will include: a full-time further education curriculum unit for Level 5 Engineering students using Inch Cape as a case study; a new All Energy Apprenticeship in Wind with virtual welding kits to be used as part of the practical learning elements, and delivery of an interactive immersive package that engages younger students mostly in their last year of primary school.

Partnership signing between Inch Cape and Edinburgh College. From left: Inch Cape’s Stakeholder & Communications Manager, Sue Vincent and OFTO and Supply Chain Manager, George Cobb with Edinburgh College’s Ron Eldridge, Head of School and Scott Warden, Assistant Principal.

Featured image caption:

Inch Cape and Edinburgh College have entered into a partnership agreement setting out how they will work together to deliver STEM initiatives for students and help them develop skills for offshore wind careers. The agreement includes delivery of the All Energy Apprenticeship in Wind with purchase of virtual welding kits to be used for practical learning. From left in front of two virtual welding kits are: Inch Cape’s George Cobb (OFTO and Supply Chain), Sue Vincent (Stakeholder and Communications) with Edinburgh College’s Scott Warden (Assistant Principal) and Ron Eldridge (Head of School).

Applications open tomorrow (19 July) for the inaugural Scottish chapter of Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult’s award-winning Launch Academy programme, proudly sponsored and supported by Inch Cape.

Launch Academy Scotland is an industry-backed technology accelerator programme for Scottish-based companies that aims to support the commercialisation of new technologies to enhance the local offshore wind supply chain, enable more local content and facilitate cost reduction.

This first Scotland-wide programme will provide 10 early-stage businesses with technology development and business growth support to help them to accelerate the commercialisation of their innovative products and services.

Alongside Inch Cape, the programme will be supported by Scottish Enterprise, and renewable energy developers BlueFloat Energy | Nadara Partnership and Ocean Winds.

Applications are open from 19 July until 16 August, when the most promising innovative solutions will be selected by a panel of experts including Inch Cape’s Innovation Champion and Interface Manager Shane Macken who said:

“Inch Cape is a showcase for numerous innovative technologies and applications, from the UK’s largest AC offshore transformer and use of Vestas’ 15MW turbines to the installation of 110m long XXL monopile foundations.

“However we still see huge potential for innovation, not just for our project but for the wider offshore wind industry, with Scotland at the forefront of that potential thanks to its energy heritage combined with future development pipeline. This is why we are dedicated in our support of the inaugural Scottish Launch Academy Scotland in partnership with innovation-drivers ORE Catapult.”

Once selected for the first Launch Academy Scotland cohort, the companies will be guided and supported through their seven-month Launch Academy journey by representatives from the sponsor organisations, industry leaders and specialists from key business areas such as finance and legal.

At the end of the programme, the innovators will pitch to industry partners and ORE Catapult’s network of investors with the aim of securing investment and a route to market for their products.

More information about the programme and how to apply can be found on the ORE Catapult Launch Academy Scotland website and there will be a Launch Academy Scotland briefing webinar on Monday 29 July, 2024. Click here for more information and to sign up.

Since 2020, Launch Academy has supported 57 companies, raised £26.7m in private investment, £8.4m in grant funding and had 150 patents filed through both the national and regional Launch Academy programmes across the United Kingdom.

The third round Inch Cape Construction Fund grants has been awarded to five community groups in Prestonpans and Cockenzie & Port Seton taking the total number of local organisations supported by the fund to 19.

Community events and summer activities were the focus of this round of grants with money provided for both the Cockenzie & Port Seton and Prestonpans Children’s Galas; for The Pennypit Trust’s school holiday lunch club; to support music and other workshop sessions at the Harlawhill Day Care Centre, and for the 1st Prestonpans Guides to run skills and confidence-building activities.

A total of almost £30,000 has now been distributed by the fund following this latest round of grants which provided £6,896 across five groups.

Managed by Foundation Scotland, the Inch Cape Construction Fund aims to support projects that have the specific objectives to either tackle the effects of poverty and inequality, improve the environment or to encourage sustainability within both the Prestonpans or Cockenzie & Port Seton community council areas.

Applications for grants of up to £2000 will be considered on a rolling basis so eligible groups can apply at any time.

The full list of the groups awarded grants and the amounts they were awarded in this third round is below, or can also be viewed on the Inch Cape website construction fund page along with the list of those awarded grants previously.

Once constructed, Inch Cape will be one of the largest offshore wind farms in Scotland. Its offshore site is in the North Sea, 15 kilometres from the Angus coastline, and electricity generated by the 72 turbines will be transmitted 85 kilometres to shore in East Lothian at a new substation being constructed on the site of the former coal-fired Cockenzie Power Station.

ICOL, owner of Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm, is an equal joint venture between Edinburgh-based renewable and sustainable energy company, Red Rock Power Limited and Ireland’s leading energy company, ESB.

Organisations awarded funds in the third grants round:

More than 300 delegates joined the two-day Inch Cape Supply Chain Expo at the Cruise Terminal in the Port of Leith this week (12 and 13 June) to find out more about the project, meet with Tier 1 contractors, tour the port to see its development plans first-hand and network with offshore wind sector peers.

The successful event was organised by NOF and provided a broad platform for local suppliers to find out about specific local contracting opportunities on the project.

The Expo was supported by Forth & Tay Offshore Cluster, who organised more than 300 one-to-one meetings between potential suppliers and the project’s contractors including: Vestas, Siemens Energy, Smulders, Careys, Forth Ports, Heerema, Granada, Port of Montrose, Pert Bruce and NG Bailey.

There were update presentations by a number of the key contractors, with a focus on the Inch Cape project and the turbines on the first day, and on the electrical transmission infrastructure on the second day.

Around 200 delegates also took advantage of the opportunity to tour the port on a coach and see all the plans for the expansion of the facility. Offshore Wind Growth Partnership was represented throughout the two days, giving local suppliers the chance to find out about funding and other growth opportunities in the offshore wind sector.

Seven community organisations in Prestonpans and Cockenzie & Port Seton have been awarded grants by the Inch Cape Construction Fund to contribute towards local projects, facilitate activities for young people and support deserving causes.

A total of more than £22,000 has now been distributed by the fund following this second round of grants which provided £9,318 to a wide range of initiatives including: a civic pride planting project; programme for women and families dealing with domestic abuse; drama and music opportunities for young people, and an employment readiness scheme for secondary students.

Managed by Foundation Scotland, the Inch Cape Construction Fund supports projects that help tackle the effects of poverty and inequality, improve the environment or encourage sustainability within the Prestonpans or Cockenzie & Port Seton community council areas.

Applications for grants of up to £2000 are considered on a rolling basis so eligible groups can apply at any time.

The full list of those awarded grants, and the amounts awarded, in this second round is below, or can also be found on the Inch Cape website construction fund page.

Electricity generated by the offshore wind farm, to be located 15 kilometres from the Angus coastline, will be brought to shore in East Lothian at a new substation being constructed on the site of the former coal-fired Cockenzie Power Station.

ICOL, owner of Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm, is an equal joint venture between Edinburgh-based renewable and sustainable energy company, Red Rock Power Limited and Ireland’s leading energy company, ESB.

Organisations awarded funds in the second grants round:

Preston Lodge High School Pipe Band received a grant to enable exam and competition opportunities for the young players and enhance their experience of music, ideally encouraging them to continue their musical aspirations.