Blog

Energy/ Business Services: The Highland Council’s North Planning Applications Committee will next week consider a report on the Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Ltd’s application to Marine Scotland to build at a site in the Moray Firth. Members of the committee will be asked to endorse the recommendation that the Council raises no objection to the development, [...]

Energy/ Business Services: Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Ltd, the partnership behind the planned offshore windfarm in the Moray Firth near the coast of Caithness and East Sutherland, has added some further data to its application to Marine Scotland for consent to build its development. If consented this could see up to 277 turbines sites in the [...]

Energy/ Business Services: As reported last week I worked with partners from Highland Council, HIE, Energy North and Caithness Chamber to arrange a visit from representatives from National Grid. This week Mike Calviou and John Taylor from National Grid visited the area and met with a number of organisations, including North Highland College, Subsea 7, [...]

Energy/ Business Services: Encouraging news this week as NorSea Group signs its first strategic working partnership agreement since announcing last month its intention to develop a supply base at Scrabster Harbour. The agreement is with Caithness firm Hugh Simpson (Contractors) Ltd, which will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its establishment next year. http://www.norseagroup.com/media-center/news-archive/scrabster-supply-base-moves-to-next-phase.aspx A number [...]

Energy/ Business Services: I met this week with colleagues from HIE, Highland Council, Environmental Research Institute, Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd and business representatives to discuss the evolving concept of an “International Marine Energy Delivery (IMED)” campus in Caithness. It was clear from the meeting that there is a considerable amount of work currently being undertaken [...]

Energy/ Business Services: Ignis Wick Ltd, the company behind the combined heat and power scheme in Wick, have announced a further expansion of the district heating system with the connection later this month of the Wick Assembly Rooms. This will allow the north’s largest public performance venue to be heated entirely from renewable energy, enabling [...]

Energy/ Business Services: As we continue to see positive interest in Caithness from the energy sector, I met this week with representatives from Highlands & Islands Airports Ltd, HIE and Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd to discuss feedback from recent contact and to agree the key messages we will continue to take to companies in the [...]

  Energy/ Business Services: As we continue to see positive interest in Caithness from the energy sector, I met this week with representatives from Highlands & Islands Airports Ltd, HIE and Dounreay Site Restoration Ltd to discuss feedback from recent contact and to agree the key messages we will continue to take to companies in [...]

Energy/ Business Services: Scrabster Harbour Trust has this week announced an agreement with NorSea Group, a major Norwegian oil & gas services company, that is expected will lead to major investment and new job prospects for the local economy. NorSea operates nine supply bases along the coast of Norway, but this will be its first [...]

Energy/ Business Services: Developing the skills of our current and future workforce has been the subject of a series of discussions with partners this week. The Partnership’s Executive and Advisory Boards have identified this as a priority issue, and from recent discussions with potential investors, particularly in the energy sector, better intelligence on industry requirements [...]

Energy/ Business Services: Students from North Highland College’s Engineering apprenticeship programme have just returned from a week in Orkney studying Marine Renewables Safety Training at Orkney College’s Maritime Studies department. The students (including some from Orkney) are based at Thurso’s state-of-the-art Engineering, Technology & Energy Centre (ETEC), but this tie-up allows students to add crucial [...]

Enabling Activities: HIE has announced the completion of the procurement of the major contract to roll out next generation broadband across the Highlands & Islands. The £146M contract was won by BT and was made possible with support from BDUK and Scottish Government. It offers a genuinely transformational opportunity for the area to compete on [...]

Energy: Highland Council’s North Planning Applications Committee this week agreed to raise no objections to the application to Marine Scotland from Moray Offshore Renewables Ltd (MORL) to develop offshore wind in the Moray Firth. The news attracted a range of press comment, both locally and nationally, and CNSRP Chairman Sir Anthony Cleaver’s comment can be [...]

Energy: Applications from Meygen Ltd and Moray Offshore Renewables Ltd will go before next Tuesday’s meeting of the Highland Council’s North Planning Applications Committee. You can view the applications at http://www.highland.gov.uk/yourcouncil/committees/npac-comms/2013-03-19-npac-ag.htm Business Services: Good news this week that recent investment by HIE in local company Escape Technologies has helped create 4 new jobs, bringing the [...]

Energy: Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE) is currently consulting on the planning application to build new overhead lines from Dounreay to Spittal; from Spittal to Mybster; and for a new substation 3.5km south of Thurso. Information on the proposals can be found at http://www.sse.com/DounreayMybster/ProjectInformation/ and the full Environmental Statement is also available to view at [...]

Energy: Meygen Ltd will be running a “Tier 2 Supply Chain” event on Tuesday 19th March. The event, which will be by invitation only, is aimed at potential suppliers to the company’s first 86MW phase of plans to install tidal devices in the Inner Sound of the Pentland Firth. The types of services being invited [...]

Energy: Good news this week from Ignis Biomass Ltd, the owners and operators of the Combined Heat & Power Plant in Wick. The Company has invested an initial £2.5M in a new biomass boiler, which has now been installed and is operating. In addition to providing heat for the Wick District Heating scheme the boiler [...]

Tourism, Food & Drink: Talent Scotland is currently advertising a Graduate Team Leader post, salary £16,000 p.a., for Natural Retreats who are recruiting for a recent graduate for a 12 month Team Leader role. The successful graduate will have the opportunity to work closely with an experienced General Manager and with senior members of the [...]

Tourism, Food & Drink: The Institute of Design Innovation has been working with a small group of tourism businesses in Caithness & North Sutherland on a HIE-funded programme to stimulate innovation in creating high quality visitor experiences. The cluster of businesses meets regularly with facilitators from the Institute, and its progress can be seen at [...]

Energy: A number of representatives from the area have been in Aberdeen this week at the Offshore Wind & Supply Chain Conference and Exhibition. The offshore wind sector has particular interest for the north, with the two major Moray Firth sites located off the Caithness/ east Sutherland coastline, and east coast facilities such as Wick [...]

Tourism, Food & Drink: Images of the Caithness area now feature in two separate Visit Scotland films promoting Scotland to prospective visitors. The “Surprise Yourself” promotional campaign is focused on the Natural Retreats development at John O’Groats, and also promotes the journey to get to the area. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIupSRO6mYg The second is a Visit Scotland film [...]

Energy: The Crown Estate has this week announced that it will consider investing up to £20M in two wave or tidal stream projects. The investment will be in the construction of the projects, with each project involving multiple generation devices arranged in an array and with a total installed capacity of 3 megawatts or greater. [...]

Energy: The new year brings further good news from Subsea 7 as it secures another significant contract which will help maintain its current workforce of around 120 at Wester, near Wick.  The contract, for Dana Petroleum, will involve pipeline construction for Dana’s Harris and Barra fields located to the east of Shetland. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-business-20910641 In a [...]

Energy: Last week a number of local people were able to view a demonstration of a system designed by Nuvia and tested at T3UK near Thurso. The remote handling equipment, for spent fuel at a power station being decommissioned in Lithuania, is the product of two years of joint work between Nuvia and JGC Engineering [...]

Energy: As the first tranche of engineering students to enroll at the Engineering, Technology and Energy Centre (ETEC) in Thurso reach the end of the first session on the North Highland College apprenticeship programme, an excellent film has been produced that highlights both the students and the state-of-the-art facilities they are able to use, as [...]

Energy: At last week’s Wave & Tidal Information Day in Thurso staff from Marine Scotland and Highland Council were present to talk about the ongoing work to develop a Pentland Firth & Orkney Waters Marine Spatial Plan. The pilot plan aims to develop a strategic decision-making framework for licensing and other consent applications in the [...]

Energy: The Pentland Firth & Orkney Waters Leadership Forum’s Wave & Tidal Information Day took place in Thurso and Kirkwall this week. The event had displays and staff from Meygen, Scottish Power Renewables, Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission Ltd, National Grid, Marine Scotland, The Crown Estate, HIE, Highland Council, Business Gateway, Skills Development Scotland, Caithness Chamber [...]

Energy: A reminder that next Wednesday (28th November) there will be an opportunity for members of the public to catch up with current activities in the wave and tidal sector when the Pentland Firth & Orkney Waters Information Day is held in the Pentland Hotel, Thurso. The event will be open from 2pm until 8pm, [...]

Enabling activities: Partners developing a one day event aimed at highlighting current and future job opportunities met this week to agree a revised timetable of work, leading to the staging of an event in February next year. The day will involve businesses, Caithness Chamber of Commerce, agencies such as Job Centre Plus, Skills Development Scotland, [...]

Energy: Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE) this week announced the signing of a Partnership Agreement with the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI). SSE is a key player in the development of the energy sector in the north, both as a developer and generator of renewable energy. Through its transmission and power distribution companies [...]

Energy: The Pentland Firth & Orkney Waters Leadership Forum (PFOWLF) brings together Crown Estate, HIE, Highland Council, Orkney Islands Council, Marine Scotland, Scottish Enterprise, National Grid, Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission Ltd and EMEC under the co-chairmanship of HIE and Scottish Government. The group has agreed to stage two information days later this month in Thurso [...]

Energy: Scottish Government has announced the launch of the £103M Renewable Energy Investment Fund (REIF). Initial priorities for the REIF are wave and tidal energy, community-owned renewables and renewable district heating, as well as other projects with a focus on innovative renewable energy technologies. The Fund is designed to complement existing public and private sector [...]

Energy: A reminder that RWE Npower Renewables are holding a “meet the buyer” event later this month with Energy North and HIE. Representatives from the firm, and from Balfour Beatty and I & H Brown, will be on hand to give advice on the procurement process, and to explain the type of contracts available during [...]

Energy: Moray Offshore Renewables Ltd, the consortium of EDP Renewables and Repsol, will be holding public meetings in the north next week to update on its submission to Scottish Government to construct offshore wind projects at three fields (Telford, Stevenson and MacColl) in the outer Moray Firth, just off the coast of Caithness. The events [...]

Energy: Scottish Renewables’ Marine Conference and Exhibition took place in Inverness this week, with over 250 delegates and over 40 exhibitors including Kongsberg Maritime, Caithness Renewables and Invest Caithness. To coincide with the Conference Scottish Renewables published data indicating that the costs of connecting to the National Grid for Caithness-based Pentland Firth wave and tidal [...]

Energy: DSRL’s Commercial Team will be holding two Supply Chain Briefings this month to give an update on the Shaft and Silo Decommissioning Project at Dounreay.The project comprises of the design, build, operations and decommissioning of limited-life plant and facilities necessary to retrieve and treat the waste from within the Dounreay Shaft and Wet Silo.  [...]

Energy: A prospective inward investor in the energy sector visited the area this week, and I was invited by colleagues at HIE to take part in discussions with representatives on the area’s assets and business infrastructure. As previously reported Dounreay’s June Love has been seconded on a part-time basis to HIE to support the ongoing [...]

Energy: The Scottish Government this week announced the four companies who will compete for the Saltire Prize. The companies are Aquamarine Power, Pelamis Wave Power, Scottish Power Renewables and Meygen.  The £10 million Prize will be won “by the team that achieves the greatest volume of electrical output in Scottish waters over the minimum hurdle [...]

Enabling Activities: Representatives of Skills Development Scotland, JobCentre Plus, Highland Council’s Employability team, North Highland College, Caithness Chamber of Commerce, HIE, Dounreay and the Scottish Qualifications Authority met in Thurso this week and agreed funding and project management arrangements for an event to be held in November that will focus on future job opportunities in [...]

Energy: Meygen Ltd has submitted its planning applications to Highland Council for onshore facilities at Ness of Quoys and Ness of Huna. These facilities will support the development of the company’s tidal power project in the Inner Sound of the Pentland Firth. The two applications are supported by a range of searchable documents including environmental [...]

Energy: The Pentland Firth & Orkney Waters Marine Energy Park was formally launched this week by UK Government Energy & Climate Change Minister Greg Barker at an event at Thurso’s Engineering, Technology & Energy Centre. The event – which was chaired by HIE Chairman Lorne Crerar, and saw John Thurso MP introduce Greg Barker -  [...]

Tourism: Natural Retreats, the operators of the new development at John O’Groats, confirmed in this week’s local press the good news that the high-quality self-catering lodges at its site should be completed by early August, with already encouraging levels of interest. A shop called the Storehouse will also open in August, selling produce and goods [...]

Energy: The Marine Energy Group, which is co-chaired by Scottish Government and industry body Scottish Renewables, has published its Marine Action Plan, which updates on progress since the launch of the Marine Energy Roadmap in 2009 and highlights ongoing activities required of governments, agencies and private sector in five key areas to further development the [...]

Energy: As reported last week, Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE) launched its online procurement portal for supply chain companies seeking to tender for work with the company. A variety of current tendering opportunities is at www.sseopen4business-highlands.com/sse/publicSearchForm.html#publicSearchForm and interested businesses are being encouraged to register their organisation and create a business profile on the site. Gills [...]

Energy: Scottish Hydro Electricity Transmission Ltd (SHETL) has published consultation information on their proposed plans for upgrades required on the transmission network between Dounreay and Mybster (on the Causeymire). The information is downloadable at http://www.sse.com/DounreayMybster/ and staff from the company will hold public exhibitions on the proposals on Wednesday 4th July at Caithness Horizons, Thurso [...]

Energy: The Scottish Parliament’s Economy, Energy & Tourism Committee was in Caithness this week as part of its inquiry into the achievability of the Scottish Government’s 2020 renewable energy targets. Members of the committee visited various local sites including North Highland College, Scrabster Harbour, Wick Harbour and Wick Airport, and HIE hosted a business breakfast [...]

Energy: I accompanied Stuart Black, Director of Planning & Development, Highland Council, to a meeting with Wick Harbour Authority to discuss the organisation’s ongoing plans for the port. We discussed a range of issues relating to potential future business at Wick, and looked at ways in which help might be offered to realise some of [...]

Energy: I have been talking to Caithness Chamber, Wick Harbour Authority, Highland Council and HIAL this week about materials and key messages being used to promote the north at the All-Energy Exhibition & Conference in Aberdeen next Wednesday and Thursday. Local businesses and organisations will have stands in the exhibition, which is the largest renewable [...]

Energy: I took part in a one-day event on “Business opportunities with academia” this week. The event was held in Orkney as part of the much larger International Conference on “Environmental Interactions of Marine Renewable Energy Technologies”, and was led by Energy North. A number of useful contacts made, and useful discussions with colleagues from [...]

Energy: CNSRP’s Advisory Board agreed a joint working arrangement with Scottish Power Renewables (SPR), who were awarded the lease to develop a tidal power scheme at the Ness of Duncansby at the east end of the Pentland Firth. An initial meeting between SPR and local representatives took place this week, with terms of reference discussed [...]

Energy: Scottish Government has confirmed that the Enterprise Area at Scrabster will be able to offer potential investor companies rates relief of up to 100% (up to £275,000 per business) as part of the incentive to locate at the site, which is on land above the harbour. The Enterprise Area designation, which lasts for 5 [...]

Energy: Understanding and responding to the skills required to support jobs in the energy sector was the subject of a meeting this week. Organised by Skills Development Scotland, the event brought together representatives from public sector bodies (SDS, JobCentre Plus, Highland Council, HIE, SQA) to hear from key energy/ power sector employers (Scottish & Southern [...]

Energy: The Leader of the Highland Council has welcomed this week’s publication by the Scottish Affairs Committee of its report on the Crown Estate in Scotland. The Committee took evidence from a wide range of interests, and visited Caithness last year as part of its inquiry. The report recommends that Crown Estate powers over marine [...]

Energy: I met with colleagues from HIE, Orkney Islands Council, Crown Estate and Scottish Renewables this week to discuss ongoing support for the Pentland Firth & Orkney Waters programme. A project plan has been drafted, and will soon be finalised. In the meantime HIE and Crown Estate continue to work together to improve knowledge of [...]

Energy: Encouraging news this week that North Highland College has been successful in attracting additional funds for its efforts to support employment opportunities. Four programmes were offered a total of approx. £1.5M from Scottish Government through the European Social Fund. Of particular note is the Highland Energy Collaboration which will support the Pentland Firth and [...]

Energy: I brought together members of the Partnership’s Delivery Group this week to review our “roadmap” for creating economic benefit from marine renewables. We met with a contractor working on behalf of the Crown Estate on a project plan for the Pentland Firth/ Orkney Waters area, so we can ensure that our plans are based [...]

Energy: EnergyHunt – the Caithness-based renewables engineering company – have just opened an office in Thurso town centre, next door to the Partnership’s office in the space formerly occupied by The Crown Estate. CNSRP’s Advisory Board has agreed a joint working arrangement with Scottish Power Renewables, for whom EnergyHunt provides local support. Staff from the [...]

Energy: Scottish Enterprise, in association with Scottish Government and HIE (and with ERDF funding), has launched a £6M fund for wave and tidal energy. “Wave and Tidal Energy: Research, Development and Demonstration Support 2″ (WATERS 2) is the second phase of the WATERS programme originally launched in March 2010, and is aimed at supporting the [...]

Energy: The Scottish Government’s Energy Advisory Board met this week, and announced the recommendations of the short-life working group on planning and consenting for offshore renewable energy. The working group, co-chaired by the Energy, Enterprise & Tourism Minister and featuring industry, regulatory bodies and The Crown Estate, has made recommendations designed to streamline the scoping, [...]

Energy: Good news for the local economy this week with confirmation of a further contract award for Subsea 7′s Wester facility near Wick. Congratulations to Willie Watt and his team on securing the $100 million contract to fabricate 2 pipelines for BP’s Clair Ridge project. The contract will help secure around 100 jobs at the [...]

Energy: Representatives from CNSRP partners Highland Council and HIE – together with a representative from Orkney Islands Council – this week presented a proposal for a Pentland Firth/ Orkney waters Marine Energy Park to the UK government’s Marine Energy Programme Board. The proposal was given a very positive reception, strengthening hopes that the area will [...]

Energy: Scottish Government has announced that Scrabster harbour is one of 14 sites across Scotland to become an “Enterprise Area”. Scrabster is included as one of five sites in the Low Carbon & Renewables – North grouping. The news follows many months of discussions where CNSRP partners have argued for one or more sites in [...]

Energy: Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission Ltd has published a contract notice for the design of the subsea hub and off-shore platform proposed for the Moray Firth (in the area of the Beatrice field), to support the provision of a High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) subsea link from Caithness to the Moray/ Aberdeenshire coast. This is [...]

Energy: I met this week with Trudy Morris (Caithness Chamber), Ian Couper (Energy North), Jacquie Black (ERI) and Keith Muir (HIE) to discuss a possible follow-up event to the supply chain event these two membership organisations held in North Highland College last spring. As previously reported UHI is staging an international conference in Orkney next [...]

Energy: Meygen, the leaseholders of the “Inner Sound” tidal site in the Pentland Firth, held two public information days this week to update on key issues such as project timescale, environmental surveys, the potential locations and scale of expected onshore works and the technical solution for exporting power to the grid. Nearly 100 people attended [...]

Energy: The Crown Estate held an event in Thurso this week to update the public on progress with wave and tidal energy plans in the Pentland Firth strategic area. Speakers at the well-attended event included John Callaghan (Crown Estate), Stuart Black (Highland Council), Roy Kirk and Norma Hogan (HIE), Pippa Goldschmidt (Marine Scotland), Dan Pearson [...]

Energy: Along with a number of other stakeholders, I attended two events this week related to the development of renewable energy. The first was the public consultation on the proposed Orkney-Caithness subsea cable link. Phase 1 of this is likely to come ashore around the Forss/ Dounreay area, and SSE is currently seeking comments on [...]

Energy: Today’s (Friday’s) Press & Journal carries coverage of an agreement signed between North Highland College and onshore windfarm developer Whirlwind Renewables. The firm is applying for an second phase of the Wathegar windfarm just outside Wick, and if successful the deal would see between £30,000-£50,000 per year over a potential 30 year period used [...]

Energy: Following a meeting with representatives of Scottish Power Renewables this week (see below for details) it was agreed that I would bring together a mini “task force” to help SPR address key issues and to raise awareness of local capabilities in key areas (skills, infrastructure, etc). This is a significant collective step forward as [...]

Energy: Scottish Government Energy Minister Fergus Ewing MSP has initiated a Government Taskforce to help develop offshore renewables (offshore wind, wave and tidal). The Taskforce’s first meeting was last Friday, and it aims to focus on ensuring developers provide good applications, and also on ensuring that the licensing/ consenting process deals with development applications swiftly. [...]

Energy: Following last week’s announcement of a consultation on revised ROC bandings for renewable energy sources, further positive news for the wave and tidal industry in the form of a Scottish Government announcement that £18M is to be made available to “improve capability and infrastructure, as well as helping fund technology solutions and the roll [...]

Energy Scottish Government announced today (Friday) a consultation on the ROC bands applying under the Renewables Obligation (Scotland) mechanism. ROC’s are seen by the renewables industry as an important support mechanism in the key early stages of developing renewables technologies. The key relevant highlight for our area is the proposal to increase the level of [...]

Energy Another potential inward investor visited the area this week to look at sites relating to offshore renewables, further highlighting the interest being shown in our assets and infrastructure.   Enabling Activities:   Transport Scotland has submitted a contract notice to the Official Journal of the European Union requesting operators to come forward to undertake [...]

Enabling Activities: I met this week with Susan Johnston of JobCentre Plus, to discuss their important role in supporting the area’s economy. I also introduced her to colleagues form Highland Council’s Employability service in the area. Speaking at a meeting of the Make The Right Connections project board this week, I was keen to highlight [...]

Energy: Together with Simon Coles in his role as Inward Investment manager on secondment to HIE I met with two representatives from a major UK company seeking to develop its involvement in the renewables industry. We were able to show them several key local facilities, and introduce them to several local companies.   Tourism: A [...]

Energy: In common with several other businesses and agencies I had a meeting this week with representatives of a company in the marine renewables sector who are thinking of setting up a base in Caithness. It was further confirmation of the growing interest from companies in locating their services close to the Pentland and Moray [...]

Energy: The Pentland Firth & Orkney Waters Leadership Forum met in Kirkwall this week, and I attended representing Highland Council (deputising for Stuart Black).  This is the group of public sector bodies (Scottish Government, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, Highland Council, Orkney Islands Council, Marine Scotland and The Crown Estate) seeking to take forward the PFOW [...]

Energy: I met this week with representatives of Energy Hunt, the Caithness-based company that has recently won the contract to maintain the Met Mast being installed as part of the proposed Moray Offshore Renewables Ltd offshore wind site off the Caithness coast. Energy Hunt is also working for Scottish Power Renewables facilitating community engagement related [...]

Week commencing 22nd August: Energy: Graeme Rankin of the NDA Competition team and Anna MacConnell, the NDA’s Stakeholder Relations and Socio-Economic Manager, updated several local stakeholders on current position with the Dounreay PBO competition. It was good to have the timetable for the remainder of the competition process laid out clearly, with the preferred bidder [...]

Business Services: HIE are holding four information events across the north next week to offer advice to anyone interested in part-time or full-time work based from home. Increasingly companies are looking at this way of working, given the range of work that can be done through broadband connectivity. The informal events are at Weigh Inn [...]

Energy: I met this week with Ian Couper, Chief Executive of Energy North (formerly North of Scotland Industries Group). We are making arrangements for a joint meeting of Highland Council and Orkney Islands Council representatives in the next few weeks, to discuss collaborative opportunities in marine energy. I also met this week with Debbie Gray, [...]

DOUNREAY SOCIO ECONOMIC ALLIANCE – SUPPORT TO THE CNSRP This blog is quite different from your usual weekly CNSRP blog.  Since the CNSRP Programme Manager is on holiday at present we have taken up his invitation to write a guest blog this week. In May 2011 a partnering agreement was signed by the Nuclear Decommissioning [...]

Energy: The NDA has just published a paper describing its “Preferred and Credible Options” for the management of DFR breeder materials which are currently stored at Dounreay. The potential transfer of spent fuels away from Dounreay to Sellafield was the subject of discussion at last month’s Dounreay Stakeholder Group. The preferred option of transportation to [...]

Energy: Together with representatives from Highland Council, Caithness Chamber of Commerce, Thurso & Wick Trades Council and Dounreay Stakeholder Group I met this week with consultants engaged by one of the companies involved in the Dounreay PBO Competition. They have been asked to help identify ways in which a new PBO at Dounreay can best [...]

Energy: I participated in a meeting this week of the Pentland Firth & Orkney Waters Coordination Committee, substituting for Stuart Black of Highland Council. This group brings together Scottish Government’s Renewables team, Marine Scotland, HIE, Highland Council, Orkney Islands Council and the Crown Estate. In the light of the Crown Estate’s recent publication of the [...]

Energy: Aberdeen-based firm AMC Engineering, who manufacture high-precision torque equipment for the oil & gas industry, have announced they will be building new workshops at Lybster. The Company’s MD is Andrew Polson, who is from Caithness. He is one of the business figures who has taken part in HIE’s “Caithness Ambassadors” initiative. The expansion of [...]

Energy: DSRL and Caithness Chamber of Commerce hosted a visit to the area this week from Dan Mistry UKAEA Culham Division, who met with a range of local companies and organisations to inform them of potential supply chain opportunities in the international fusion research programmes.  In our wash-up meeting with Dan after his two days [...]

Energy: I took part in a meeting this week organised by representatives of Amec, to coincide with a visit to the area of Amec’s Chief Operating Officer Neil Bruce and senior colleagues. The meeting brought together local stakeholders and Amec staff, and allowed Amec to talk about the company’s views on future opportunities in Caithness, [...]

Energy: Meygen, the company behind the proposed 400MW tidal energy site between Stroma and the Caithness coast, has begun its consenting phase of work. I met with Meygen’s Environment & Consents Manager, who has been helped this week by colleagues at DSRL to circulate information on the company’s forthcoming public open days to gather comments [...]

Energy: Caithness, Sutherland and Ross MSP Rob Gibson raised in the Scottish Parliament the issue of the impending departure of The Crown Estate’s Wave & Tidal Project Manager currently based in Thurso. In his reply Scottish Government Minister Richard Lochhead acknowledged the representations being made from the north on this issue. I have described previously [...]

Energy: An indication of the ever-increasing interest in renewables in Scotland was an event held at Rosyth this week, hosted jointly by Babcock and Carnegie College. Entitled “The Power of Partnerships” the one-day conference focused on offshore wind and had a keynote address from Fergus Ewing MSP less than 24 hours after his appointment as [...]

Energy: The international All Energy Exhibition & Conference took place in Aberdeen this week, with a strong presence from companies from Caithness. Most of the Caithness-related stands in the exhibition hall were part of the Caithness Chamber of Commerce/ Invest Caithness presence in the “HI-Energy pavilion” co-ordinated by Highlands and Islands Enterprise. It was good [...]

Energy: The UK Coalition Government this week forwarded 12 projects from the UK to the EU’s €4.5 bn carbon capture and renewables scheme. Of the 12 projects forwarded, five companies involved in wave and tidal development in the Pentland Firth/ Orkney Waters will be involved (Marine Current Turbines, Meygen, Scottish Power Renewables/ Hammerfest Strom, Pelamis [...]

Energy: A joint North of Scotland Industries Group/ Caithness Chamber of Commerce event on marine energy was held in North Highland College. The event was attended by businesses from across the Highlands and into Grampian area, including some oil & gas companies with developing interests in renewables. A number of presentations including ones from Crown [...]

Business Services: I will be coordinating a meeting this week with representatives from the Pensions Administration Office to update local stakeholders on plans to move the PAO’s base from Thurso to the Forss Business & Technology Park. The work done by staff at the PAO is a good example of the type of high-quality employment [...]

Energy: Following discussions at the CNSRP Executive Board about the value of pursuing additional mechanisms to encourage inward investment into the area, CNSRP Chairman Sir Anthony Cleaver has this week written to Rt Hon George Osborne MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer, to ask for support in making Caithness and North Sutherland one of the 10 [...]

Energy: Secretary of State for Scotland Michael Moore MP was asked by John Thurso MP during Scottish Questions at Westminster this week to support his calls for Caithness to become one of the UK’s first Marine Energy Parks. The coalition Government announced this idea recently, and there is a desire in the area to take [...]

Programme activities: Energy: I continue to discuss ways in which the area’s assets can be maximised in relation to the marine energy sector. This week discussions have taken place with Highland Council and HIE staff regarding how we might approach Government to make the case for some form of enterprise zone status for the area, [...]

I participated in the second round of meetings with the two consortia bidding to become the next PBO at Dounreay. The meeting (facilitated by the NDA) was chaired by John Thurso MP, and allowed members of both bid teams to pass on some thoughts following our first set of meetings back in November, at which [...]

Programme activities: Now that we have agreed our priorities for the 2011-2014 period, work continues to implement the programme of delivery activities. This week I chaired the monthly meeting of the Partnership’s Delivery Group, at which colleagues from HIE, Highland Council, DSRL and Caithness Chamber reported on progress with our two priority areas of energy [...]

I brought together several local organisations currently working in the energy and renewable energy sector, along with Caithness Chamber of Commerce,  to discuss the relative value of a more coherent local voice in the energy sector. Recent local comments on the effective roles played by Orkney Renewable Energy Forum and Shetland Renewable Energy Forum prompted [...]

I accompanied CNSRP Chairman Sir Anthony Cleaver, HIE Chief Executive Alex Paterson, Highland Council Director of Planning & Development Stuart Black, NDA Director of Communications & Stakeholder Relations Jon Phillips and Scottish Government Enterprise Team member Karen Jackson to meet Jim Mather MSP, the Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism in the Scottish Government. The [...]

Week commencing 24th January I met with Caithness area Highland Councillors and HIE’s Area Manager Roy Kirk to discuss the ongoing issues regarding the future of the tax office in Wick, which is scheduled for closure in 2012. HIE remains keen to incorporate the skills represented in the Wick office into its developing campaigns for [...]

Week commencing 17th January The Partnership’s Delivery Group met this week, and discussed progress on our two priority areas of energy and business services. Roy Kirk, HIE’s Area Manager reported progress in existing businesses and with targeted inward investment research and campaigns in specific areas of both energy and business services. We discussed with HIE, [...]

In the first week back at work following the Christmas and New Year period there was good news for the area in the form of two approvals to businesses from the European Regional Development Fund. The first was an award of £2.5M to Scrabster Harbour Trust to further support the development of Scrabster Harbour. This [...]

The Partnership’s Executive Board met last week, and discussed the draft 2011-2014 Caithness & North Sutherland Action Plan. I will be making revisions to the Plan based on our discussions, and circulating a revised version aimed at honing down even further our priority activities. The NDA’s Jon Phillips also updated the Board on the National [...]

Working this week with colleagues from DSRL to align the DSRL Socio-Economic Plan for 2011/12 with the wider priorities of the Caithness & North Sutherland Action Plan 2011-2014. The DSRL Plan includes priorities for the Dounreay site’s Socio-economic budget which, although funded through the NDA, is separate from the UK-wide NDA Socio-economic Fund. Alignment of [...]

The adverse weather conditions have disrupted activities this week. The CNSRP Executive Board was due to meet for its quarterly meeting today, but travel chaos further south has forced its postponement. I have now arranged an alternative date before Christmas. Also this week a meeting with North Highland College (retail skills initiative), a Tourism Workshop [...]

This week’s main focus has been finalising a draft of the delivery programme that describes how the partners will achieve the aims set out in our 2011-2014 Action Plan. In developing this draft programme I have been working with collegues from HIE in particular. The Action Plan will be submitted to the CNSRP Executive Board [...]

The Partnership’s Advisory Board met this week at T3UK. There were two update presentations on key current activities. The first was from Sandy Mackie of Scrabster Harbour Trust on progress with the Trust’s redevelopment plans for Scrabster harbour. This was welcomed by everyone, and there was real hope that the funding package would be finalised [...]

I was involved in both of the two Wave and Tidal Developer Days held in Thurso this week. Over 400 people came to the Pentland Hotel during Tuesday and Wednesday to meet the Pentland Firth Round 1 companies, as well as staff from Crown Estate, Marine Scotland, SNH, National Grid and Scottish & Southern Energy. [...]

This week’s main focus has been finalising a draft of the Caithness & North Sutherland Action Plan 2011-2014 so that it can go forward to the Partnership’s Advisory Board at its November meeting. The Action Plan has been focused down considerably, and revolves around the creation of sustainable employment opportunities through support from CNSRP partner [...]

The Partnership’s Delivery Group met this week to review current activities associated with the regeneration programme of work. The announcement of HIE’s successful bid to the UK Government for a superfast broadband pilot was welcomed, and the small CNSRP Connectivity group will continue to work with HIE staff as the pilot proposals are developed further. [...]

Visiting the county this week were the Chairman, Chief Executive, Regional Director and several Board Members of Highlands & Islands Enterprise. I attended a breakfast meeting held jointly by HIE and Caithness Chamber of Commerce at which HIE Chairman Willy Roe reiterated the organisation’s ambitions for the area over the next few years. The well-attended [...]

I met colleagues from Highland Council, HIE, Scottish Government, North Highland Initiative and The Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environment to continue the work begun in August at a workshop on marine energy in the Castle of Mey. The event was attended by the Duke of Rothesay. Marine developers told us they would value an [...]

The CNSRP Executive Board met this week in Wick under the Chairmanship of Sir Anthony Cleaver. We heard from the NDA’s Competition team how the consultations with local stakeholders on the importance of socio-economics within the Dounreay PBO competition have been incorporated into the ongoing process. We also heard from HIE’s Area Manager about delivery [...]

The CNSRP Advisory Board met this week in Thurso. Members heard a presentation from Neal Rafferty, Senior Policy Adviser in Scottish Government’s Renewables team. Neal is the co-chair of the Pentland Firth Delivery Group, which brings together Scottish Government, Crown Estate, HIE, Highland & Orkney Islands Councils, Scottish Natural Heritage, Scottish Development International, National Grid, [...]

I have been working on papers to go to our Advisory Board and Executive Board. The Advisory Board meets on Monday 13th and will have an update from a Scottish Government representative on progress with the Pentland Firth Marine Energy project. I have been working with colleagues at HIE to agree more detailed delivery plans [...]

I met with Jennifer Irvine from Business Gateway to update my figures on job creation in the area. Business Gateway provides a range of advisory and support services to local businesses, and it was good to hear that last year in its first 12 months of operation BG helped 24 new businesses in the north [...]

I took part in a workshop to help develop a bid going in to UK Government for  pilot project to roll out superfast broadband. The UK Government is currently seeking pilot proposals from across the UK. This is something we identified early in our Action Plan as a priority, and I’m pleased to say that [...]

Separate meetings last week with representatives of Caithness Solutions and the Babcock Dounreay Partnership as we continue to discuss opportunities to deliver socio-economic benefit through the PBO competition process at Dounreay. I also participated in a two-day visit to Cumbria along with representatives from NDA, HIE, Highland Council, DSRL, Chamber of Commerce, Dounreay Stakeholders’ Group [...]

I discussed updated figures for the number of jobs being created in the area with colleagues at HIE – I am also discussing this with colleagues at the Highland Council and North Highland Regeneration Fund. The purpose of this is to identify as accurate a picture as possible for job creation over the past three [...]

I participated in a workshop at the Castle of Mey this week. Co-sponsored by the Scottish Government, Highland Council and HIE and led by The Prince’s Foundation for the Built Environment, it focussed on an “onshore vision” for a marine energy industry in Caithness. In other words, to look at the infrastructure, resources and skills [...]

I issued a summary of programme delivery priorities to partners today, and hope to agree this next week so that it can be communicated widely in the coming weeks as we set out our plans to deliver jobs over the coming months and years. I chaired a meeting of the Partnership’s IT connectivity group this [...]

I have met separately with colleagues from HIE, NDA and Caithness Chamber of Commerce as I work to produce a revised version of the regeneration programme, following the meeting of the partners in Inverness on 2nd July. The Partnership’s Senior Officers’ Group met this week, to discuss progress with the activities we are prioritising through [...]

The Stage 1 application for European funding for a workforce transition programme has been approved. This is extremely good news, and now allows the group of agencies and local bodies that met to develop the initial proposal to work up a more detailed bid in time for the next deadline of mid August. The bid [...]

The partners in CNSRP held a workshop this week, focusing on the priority areas and projects to be pursued over the coming months. There was a clear consensus that focusing on actions in energy and business services was most likely to deliver the level and quality of employment sought for the area. A clear forward [...]

Took part in a marine renewables event in Edinburgh this week. It was focused on financial issues affecting the development of wave and tidal technologies and their associated infrastructure. One of the key case studies was Scrabster harbour, and Scrabster Chief Executive Rod Johnstone spoke very passionately about the need for port and other onshore [...]

Several members of the CNSRP Advisory Board visited Orkney on Monday/ Tuesday this week. It was a useful and constructiive visit. Meetings were held at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) in Stromness, and with Orkney Harbours and Orkney Islands Council. Visits to test sites for both wave and tidal devices were organised, as was [...]

Following last week’s meeting of the Partnership’s Executive Board I have been organising a workshop for the main partners, to be held in the last week of June. I have been discussing arrangements for this with NDA, HIE and Highland Council colleagues. We have also discussed other issues such as the socio-economic elements of the [...]

The Partnership Advisory Board’s quarterly meeting took place this week. This is the body that brings together representatives from HIE, The Highland Council, the NDA, DSRL, Thurso & Wick Trades Council, Caithness Chamber of Commerce, the Dounreay Stakeholders’ Group, the Association of Caithness Community Councils, the Federation of North Coast Community Councils, North Highland College, [...]

Workforce development issues have dominated this week’s activities. Following recent discussions on this subject several of us attended a workshop on European funding held in Thurso by HIPP (the body responsible for managing the EU Structural Funds in the Highlands & Islands). We were able to discuss our outline proposal with an HIPP adviser, and [...]

The Partnership’s Senior Officers’ Group met this week, making comments on the draft Regeneration Programme and Resource Plan that I will submit to our Executive Board when it meets in two weeks’ time. The Senior Officers’ Group also discussed and agreed a proposed piece of work with a marine energy developers, aimed at mapping our [...]

I took part in the HITRANS forum in Thurso this week. HITRANS is the regional transport authority, and there were presentations on a HITRANS study on Transport Infrastructure for Renewable Energy, as well as one on options for development of the A9 around Berridale Braes. The latter subject was particularly topical following the accident at [...]

The draft Resource Plan to support the delivery of the regeneration programme is now being circulated to the partner bodies for comment.  I brought together colleagues from the NDA, DSRL, Skills Development Scotland, Caithness Chamber of Commerce and local supply chain companies to address the issue of workforce transition. We agreed that we would draft [...]

I continue to work on a Resoures Plan, which I will submit to partners for consideration early next week. I have had further discussions with Highland Council, HIE, Business Gateway and Chamber of Commerce colleagues as I develop the plan. The Partnership’s Senior Officers’ Group met, and discussed the Regeneration Programme in its draft form [...]

Following discussion at the Partnership’s Executive Board I am working on a draft Resources Plan for the delivery of the regeneration programme. This will detail the human and financial resources I feel will be required to take us through the next crucial phase of delivery. I have had separate discussions this week with Highland Council, [...]

I took part in North Highland College’s Strategic Planning day, facilitating one of the workshop sessions. It was very useful to get greater insight into future college plans as they might impact on the regeneration programme, and also good to be able to discuss some local opportunities that might be available from the continuing development [...]

I met with DSRL’s socio-economic team to discuss workforce transition plans. I have also been discussing this with NDA’s socio-economic manager, who is looking at models of workforce transition elsewhere in the NDA estate. I would like to encourage a transition programme that includes the Dounreay supply chain as well as direct DSRL staff, and [...]

A rather unusual week, with the extreme weather causing lots of travel problems. However, I was able to make a presentation in Aberdeen to members of the Energy Industries Council. The EIC is “the centre for energy market intelligence for UK registered companies” and it has offices in Aberdeen, Billingham and London (UK) as well [...]

I brought together a small group of local representatives to discuss how best to bring together a “pipeline” of projects from within our regeneration programme, so that we can make better use of funding opportunities. This is important as we seek to deliver tangible economic benefits  I also attended a meeting called by the Chamber [...]

I hosted a meeting this week with Dennis Malone, Chief Executive of the Highlands & Islands Partnership Programme. HIPP is the body tasked with managing the two European Structural Funds Programmes for the Highlands & Islands. These two Programmes (ERDF and ESF) have a combined value of €174 million and the Programmes last from 2007-2013. [...]

Met with senior Highland Council colleagues to discuss a range of Partnership issues, including preparation for the Partnership’s Advisory Board on 18th March and the regeneration programme we hope discuss with Advisory Board members. Also considered logistics for the Crown Estate announcement event in Wick on 16th March. I attended the second of the two [...]

Met with Inward Investment manager Fiona Macpherson, Trudy Morris (Chamber of Commerce) and Rachel Skene (Tourism) to agree our joint positions on inward investment and capability materials. The Chamber and North Highland Tourism will work with us on capability materials for use at Visitscotland Expo in April, and we continue to work up materials on [...]

The Partnership ran a workshop this week focusing on skills issues. The results of the Caithness & North Sutherland Skills Audit were presented, and DSRL’s Ken Nicol presented a view on workforce transition, followed by new North Highland College Principal Gordon Jenkins outlining opportunities being pursued by the College. As an outcome from the meeting [...]

I chaired a meeting of the Partnership’s Senior Officers’ Group, at which the main discussion focussed on ensuring the version of the programme which we are about to publish is as robust as we can make it. We agreed that version 1 of the programme would still show some gaps in terms of the detailed [...]

Working with colleagues at The Crown Estate, HIE and Highland Council as we move closer to the announcement of Pentland Firth Round One marine energy leases. I hope that a date for the announcement will be agreed in the coming week and that there will be an announcement event in Caithness.  I brought together colleagues from [...]

Considerable time last week was spent preparing for the Industry Day that signalled the start of the competition to appoint the next parent Body Organisation for the Dounreay site. I coordinated the group of local representatives making the area presentation on economic opportunities. The event itself was held on Friday 5th in Wick Assembly Rooms, [...]

I have had discussions this week with colleagues from HIE on how best to identify and attract to this area businesses which are high users of energy. Met to discuss revisions to the Pentland Firth “Road Map”, and how we can best capture employment opprtunities following the forthcoming announcement from the Crown Estate on leases [...]

Week Commencing 18th January 2010: I have been working with colleagues at DSRL on further revisions to our Master programme. I hope to be in a position to issue the first version of this in early February. I attended the latest meeting of Thurso & Wick Trades Union Council – updated members on progress with [...]

This is a short message to update you on activities involving the Caithness & North Sutherland Regeneration Partnership.  I met with colleagues from Visitscotland and Highland Council in Inverness to discuss updated activities for the tourism sector in our area. I have agreed to bring together on 16th February colleagues from Visitscotland, Highland Council, HIE [...]

This is a short message to update you on activities involving the Caithness & North Sutherland Regeneration Partnership. This week I met with Trudy Morris (Caithness Chamber of Commerce), Anna MacConnell (NDA), Fiona MacPherson (HIE) and John Thurso MP to discuss the presentation of the area’s economic opportunities to attendees at the NDA’s Industry Day [...]

Week Commencing 21st December: Met this week with two people (one local, one working in England) with IT backgrounds to discuss further the opportunities we might have to enhance the area’s connectivity. Colleagues at HIE are currently working on this issue, so we may see progress in the New Year. Met Koreen MacDougall from the [...]

Welcome to the new website of the Caithness & North Sutherland Regeneration Partnership. These pages are an important part of our commitment to keep as many people as possible up to date with what’s happening in the area. This blog, in particular, will allow me to talk about our current work, so that you can [...]