OREANDA-NEWS. Two events were held in Wick and Elgin recently to engage with local businesses on the Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm (BOWL) Open4Business supply chain.

They followed the success of a similar event in Inverness, with more than  170 attendees visiting over the two-day period.

Businesses were able to learn more about possible supply chain opportunities available during the construction and lifespan of the project.

Kirstanne Land, Liaison Manager for the BOWL project, said: “We were overwhelmed by the level of interest in the Beatrice supply chain events – all three events in Inverness, Elgin and Wick were filled to capacity.

“The feedback we received from attendees was extremely positive and we hope the businesses that came along to the events found them useful and informative. The BOWL team and our Engineering, Procurement and Construction Contractors enjoyed speaking with everyone on the day and learning about the type of services available to the project.”

Representatives from the BOWL project team, SSE’s Open4Business initiative, Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Contractors, and Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) were on hand at the events to provide an update on the latest project information and answer any questions on the day.

One-to-one speed networking sessions also took place to allow businesses to pitch their services directly to BOWL’s procurement team and early stage principle contractors.

Subject to a positive final investment decision, the Beatrice project, which was consented by Marine Scotland in March 2014 and granted an Investment Contract by the UK government in May 2014, is planned for construction in 2016. 

As well as generating up to 664MW of renewable electricity if constructed, the project is expected to bring a range of socio-economic benefits to both the Moray and Highland regions.