Scottish offshore wind ‘has capital value of £100Bn’

In a keynote address at the Global Offshore Wind Investment Forum in Edinburgh on 17 March 2025, the First Minister said the growth and success of Scotland’s offshore wind industry “is inextricably linked to fulfilling Scotland’s role in the world today.”

The First Minister told delegates at the conference that Scotland has “tremendous natural resources, pioneering industries and boundless potential” and offshore wind “is how we build the Scotland of tomorrow as a green, dynamic, and prosperous nation.”

Mr Swinney told investors at the event, “We all know the global context that surrounds this moment in which we find ourselves. From market volatility to international conflicts, to accelerating climate change, these are times of mounting challenges and of increasing risk. But no one knows better than investors like yourselves, that a well-navigated risk opens up new opportunities and the potential for huge returns. So, I have come here to personally explain how Scotland is poised to meet those challenges. And I have come to explain the opportunity at the heart of that – the scale of it and the potential prize for those who play a role in that journey. To put it bluntly, I have come to explain to you about ‘why Scotland?’ ‘Why now?’ And ‘why you?’"

Mr Swinney said Scotland’s ambition is to be “nothing less than this century’s global leader in clean, secure energy.” He said the potential reward for achieving that is “nothing short of generational,” with the estimated potential capital value of the Scottish offshore wind market “around £100Bn, given full deployment of the potential pipeline.”

The First Minister told potential investors at the forum that Scotland is in a unique position to capitalise on the opportunity offshore wind provides. He noted the European Union is urgently seeking energy independence and wants to significantly increase the proportion of its energy that comes from renewables. “We are in an ideal position to meet those needs here in Scotland,” he said.

He continued, “As a government, we are investing heavily – both in capital and in-kind support – to make Scotland a start-up, scale-up nation. GDP per person in Scotland has grown faster here than in the whole of the UK and productivity has increased at more than twice the rate in the United Kingdom. All of this creates the perfect platform to build and sustain a thriving offshore wind economy here in Scotland. It gives us the strong foundation that we need to capitalise on this opportunity.”

Mr Swinney said Scotland  has already gained a significant first-mover advantage in the development of floating offshore wind, having held the world’s largest leasing round for floating offshore wind, resulting in 20 projects with seabed option agreements of which 14 are floating wind projects.

“We are committed to growing our economies through clean, secure energy and infrastructure,” he explained. “We understand the importance of a good investment environment to this industry. And we understand that a good investment environment needs stability, consistency and predictability. We are working at pace, in areas such as grid access and energy market reforms…

“And my government is taking the necessary action in the areas of devolved responsibility under our control on questions such as consenting, marine licensing, and strategic investment. The importance of ensuring those developments and decisions are taken timeously is central to the working approaches of my government,” Mr Swinney said, highlighting the Scottish government’s £500M investment in offshore wind that is designed to spur private investment in ports, manufacturing and fabrication facilities.

“History has shown us again and again that success involves choosing the right time and place to capitalise on the next innovation. The golden age of renewables is here. Scotland is uniquely placed to usher it in. And you are uniquely placed to be on the ground floor of this, the next marvel of our age. This is the exciting opportunity of our age and in Scotland we are determined to do all that we can to seize that opportunity.”