Credit: Haventus
Energy transition facilities provider supported by £100m joint credit facility from UK Infrastructure Bank and Scottish National Bank
Haventus has secured a £100m joint loan from the UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB) and the Scottish National Investment Bank to support the redevelopment of a port near Inverness to turn it into a major hub for deploying fixed and floating offshore wind turbines.
The energy facilities provider, which owns the Ardersier Port to the east of Inverness, announced it has secured the new funding to support its plans to develop a new 650-metre quay wall and associated infrastructure to enable offshore wind developers and manufacturers of wind power components and equipment to make greater use of the facility.
Once completed and operational, Haventus claims it will be the largest dedicated offshore wind farm deployment port facility in Scotland, boasting enough capacity to host and support gigawatt-scale projects.
Situated within the Cromarty Firth Green Freeport area, it is envisaged the 450-acre Ardersier Port site will offer quayside access and suitable infrastructure for marshalling, integration, manufacturing and assembly of offshore wind components.
Both UKIB and the Scottish National Investment Bank have each agreed to stump up £50m via a joint credit facility to support the Port's redevelopment plan.
It also follows a £300m capital commitment to support the Haventus-led redevelopment of the Port announced last year by energy investor Quantum Capital Group.
The project has been hailed as one of the largest industrial regeneration projects in the Scottish Highlands in decades, and is expected to create hundreds of new jobs while significantly increasing Scotland's offshore wind port capacity.
Scotland's newly-elected First Minister John Swinney said the support from both banks "demonstrates the huge confidence in this new facility and its role in helping deliver a fairer, greener future for everyone".
"Scotland's growing offshore wind capabilities presents an era-defining opportunity - not only to achieve a just transition to net zero, but to harness the skills which lie across our energy sector and wider supply chain to create thousands of green jobs and transform our regional and national economies," he said. "The Ardersier Port redevelopment, which is central to the ambitions of the ground-breaking Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport, exemplifies this opportunity."
Haventus chief executive Lewis Gillies welcomed the support from the two banks and Quantum, adding that Ardersier Port was now "poised to become a critical offshore wind hub and an important job creator and enabler".
"It will play a crucial role in helping the country meet its net zero ambitions," he said. "With work now underway on site, we aim to have the facility open and operational in the second half of next year. This progress has been achieved in a very short period, due in large measure to the constructive engagement we have had with the Highland Council, our consenting agencies and regulators and government departments."
In recognition of its strategic importance to the renewables sector, the Ardersier Port redevelopment is the first project to be financed by the Scottish National Bank and UKIB, which recently announced they have signed a memorandum of understanding to formalise their close working relationship on such projects.
"Vast investment is needed in port infrastructure by 2030 in order to fully realise the potential of offshore wind," said UKIB CEO John Flint. "This is a great opportunity to support this crucial sector, alongside the Scottish National Investment Bank, in what will be a nationally significant project for the UK energy transition, while also helping to grow the local Scottish economy."
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