Onshore wind sector deal

Supply chain, skills and the circular economy

We will support the enhancement of the current skills and training provision by further and higher education and other training providers to focus on delivering the needs of the wind industry and to position Scotland as a world leader in material circularity.

The development of the supply chain for onshore wind in Scotland is crucial to providing both an opportunity for sustainable economic development and in delivering an increased volume of projects by 2030. The available level of skilled and experienced staff for industry, Government (local and national), agencies and regulators needs to grow to be sufficient to facilitate the 2030 ambitions.

This presents an opportunity to increase the number of individuals gaining qualifications in renewable energy and circular economy skills and of skilled professionals transitioning into renewables from other sectors. It also offers the opportunity to align the sector’s skills development and transition needs with the Scottish Government’s broader objectives for diversity in the workplace.

Maximising the reuse of materials and minimising waste in the supply chain presents an opportunity for the development of high-value industries and jobs, particularly as more sites become ready for decommissioning. Scotland can be a world leader in the reuse, refurbishment, remanufacturing and recycling of wind turbine components and wider assets, which in turn will create jobs and export opportunities.

Collaborative action to support onshore wind

• By April 2024, the onshore wind sector (the “Sector”) and the Scottish Government (“the Government”) will have established a working group and published a paper identifying the range of skills needed by industry to deliver our 2030 target. This paper will include a timeline indicating the number of jobs and roles required year on year to fulfil our 2030 ambitions. The purpose of this paper will be to provide the skills analysis from which the enhancement of the current skills and training provisions for further and higher education can be developed.
• By September 2024, the Sector and Government will collaborate with the further and higher education sector and relevant training providers to use the skills analysis to enhance the current skills and training provision for apprenticeships, academic, transition and vocational modules. Liaison with the Sector will be required to:
  • Examine those areas of manufacturing and remanufacturing for onshore wind that could have synergies with, and reduce investment risk for, offshore wind supply chain investment such as collaboration with the turbine suppliers, Tier 1 contractors, enterprise agencies (EAs), decommissioning companies, and SOWEC clusters groups.
  • Understand the specific infrastructure requirements for ports to support onshore wind, and any circularity-related opportunities (within the context of emerging Strategic Investment Model (SIM) projects).
  • Consider synergies for investment in skills and training, identifying where there is overlap between core skills required for onshore and offshore roles, and seeking common cause in boosting the talent pool.

Sector action to support onshore wind

• Following the collaborative work undertaken by the Sector and Government to identify skills gaps and opportunities for training, the Sector will commit to an appropriate number of apprenticeships, training opportunities and skilled jobs, across the sector and related industries, for the lifetime of the sector deal.
• From 2024, we will publish data on the percentage of local content in the supply chain and O&M arrangements of our projects at the point of commissioning.
• By the end of 2024, we will have established a collaborative approach to promoting supply chain opportunities to support increased local content in projects.
• From 2024, we will utilise onshore wind pipeline data to identify and pursue opportunities for geographic clustering of O&M capacity and will seek collaborative co-investment in O&M facilities and logistics infrastructure around Scotland, delivering economic impact in the locale of projects.
• We will collaborate with the Coalition for Wind Industry Circularity (CWIC) to facilitate publishing its full programme of commitments by Q1 2024, and to support efforts towards:
  • Innovative circular supply chain development
  • Progressing Scottish/UK supply chain options for reused, refurbished and remanufactured component parts
  • Establishing common standards for reporting on individual company approaches.
• We will, supported by Government and relevant agencies, deliver at least one specialist blade treatment facility in Scotland by 2030, positioning Scotland as a European hub for this significant market opportunity.

Government action to support onshore wind

• We will explore opportunities with EAs to support onshore supply chain development and business diversification and transition, publishing a strategy paper by July 2024.
• We will work with the Sector, and our UK counterparts as required, to explore the role a regulatory stimulus could play in driving behavioural change in the circularity of materials, including blades and the use of refurbished or remanufactured components, publishing a strategy paper by October 2024. This action will take account of the CWIC programme of commitments to be published in Q1 2024.
• From Q3 2023 our direct partner agencies, including SEPA, Zero Waste Scotland and EAs, will aim to participate in the CWIC initiative and develop industry collaboration in support of delivering CWIC’s ambitions.
• We will continue to provide a national, strategic framework for skills in Scotland with the National Strategy for Economic Transformation Skilled Workforce programme, the Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan and the Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan.
• We will seek to work with SOWEC through its Skills Group to support coordinated skills information for onshore and offshore wind.