Industry experts are claiming there is a "huge opportunity" to boost the UK's offshore wind sector.

Brian McFarlane, Head of Projects - Offshore Development at SSE, said projects such as the £2.6 billion Beatrice scheme, as well as the Dogger Bank and Seagreen projects, could help boost the UK's domestic supply chain.

"There is a strong pipeline of offshore wind developments in the UK, but many of these are significantly larger than projects like (588MW, 84-turbine) Beatrice," he said.

"The vast scale of these projects can help to drive deeper cost reductions and really develop the domestic supply chain."

However, Mr McFarlane added both industry and Government needed to re-examine the Contract's for Difference (CfD) framework to "ensure it can accommodate these larger projects whilst delivering more competition in the CfD auctions".

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"The good news is that there are relatively simple tweaks that can be made to do this which will mean growth in jobs and business developing clean, secure and affordable energy for the years ahead," he said.

Andrew Jamieson, Chief Executive of the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult, added: "The costs of energy from offshore wind have fallen to such a degree in recent years that it is rapidly becoming not only the nation's primary means of delivering its carbon reduction targets through the coming decades, but a huge opportunity to export energy across Europe and goods and services all around the world.

"That growth is driving opportunity in many areas, and we now have the chance to develop the companies, the workforce, the skills and expertise that will do for the UK, and for Scotland, what the oil and gas industries have done so successfully for the past half-century."

Both Mr McFarlane and Mr Jamieson were speaking ahead of an "Industry Leaders' Debate” at Scottish Renewables' Offshore Wind Conference, which will be held in Glasgow on Tuesday, 24 January.

Lindsay Roberts, Senior Policy Manager at Scottish Renewables, added: "Offshore wind is a hugely promising sector in which the UK currently enjoys a world lead.

"Both Andrew and Brian are right to highlight the importance of our domestic supply chain, and with projects like Beatrice and the Aberdeen Offshore Wind Farm now underway there is a real opportunity here for Scotland to use its offshore expertise to make waves globally."

(LM/MH)