A Scottish government and Crown Estate Scotland commitment to retain supply chain benefits from Offshore Wind in Scotland has been welcomed by Comhairle nan Eilean Siar.

Historically, much of the primary supply chain content for Scottish Offshore Wind developments has come from overseas yards but this new commitment, enshrined in future seabed leases, should see more supply chain content retained in Scotland.

Commenting on this development, the Comhairle's Chair of Sustainable Development, Cllr Donald Crichton, said: "On the face of it, this is good news for Scotland and for our own Offshore Fabrication Yard at Arnish. For many years now, the Comhairle has been concerned about the procurement practices of Offshore Wind developers and for their part, Crown Estate Scotland appear to have been unable to demand economic opportunities for Scottish business in Offshore Wind procurement. That is one of the reasons why the Comhairle has sought more local control over seabed leasing by entering into a Local Asset Management Pilot Scheme with Crown Estate Scotland.

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"Now it appears that Crown Estate Scotland's new leasing round for Offshore Wind, known as ScotWind, will require a tougher commitment to the Scottish Supply Chain by prospective developers and that can only be good news for Scottish Yards like Arnish. Through its new relationship with Crown Estate Scotland and Marine Scotland, the Comhairle will continue to press for the benefits of Offshore Wind to be retained in the Scottish economy."

(MH/JG)