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Peel Ports Clydeport has secured planning permission for a £150 million upgrade of the Hunterston marine yard in Ayrshire.
The redevelopment will transform the site into a major hub for offshore wind power projects on the UK's west coast. The works, which are scheduled to begin in early 2025, will include significant upgrades to the marine yard, such as infilling the dry-dock basin and constructing a new quay wall.
Highview Power recently announced plans to build the world's largest Liquid Air Energy Storage (LAES) facility at Hunterston. This is one of several renewable energy projects currently underway or planned for the site.
The overall redevelopment of Hunterston is expected to attract £3.5 billion in investment and create over 5,000 jobs.
Lewis McIntyre, Managing Director – Port Services at Peel Ports Group said: "Hunterston is set to become a major facilitator of the UK energy transition, and this decision is a big step forward in making that happen. It also proves that the west coast is going to play a huge role in renewables.
"There will be no energy transition without ports, and harnessing the potential of sites like Hunterston is key to achieving the UK’s net-zero goals. The knock-on benefits for the local and national economies are also significant. We look forward to working with the policymaking community to create the investment conditions we need to replicate the success of Hunterston at other sites across the country."
In addition to the planning permission granted today, the final hurdle of the redevelopment will be to secure the necessary marine licences, for which consultation is well underway, and once secured the works can commence.
The redevelopment will continue the transformation of the former Hunterston coal terminal into a leading hub for the blue and green economies. Of the 350 acres being redeveloped, some 90% of the site is already under option, supporting energy transition projects such as HVDC cable manufacturing, the UK’s first hub for the manufacturing of gravity base structures, power generation and storage.
