Supply Chain
The Offshore Energy Alliance has been created first and foremost to deliver on Offshore Wind Sector Deal commitments.
Please visit the OWIC & The Sector Deal web page for more information on the commitments that the industry is driving more generally with the supply chain in mind. The OEA compliments this activity at a regional level.
The cluster flies the flag for local businesses across the North Wales and North West of England, raising awareness of upcoming opportunities within the region, across the UK and beyond. The cluster also drives activity in innovation, training and skills which are all aspects linked to successful supply chain delivery.
As a brand new supply chain cluster, the OEA is working hard to ensure it is as regionally embedded as possible, to maximise local benefit. As part of the sector deal an ambition of reaching 60% UK content across the lifetime of a wind farm project was agreed to. Clusters like the OEA help to progress the industry towards this target via the activities that are carried out more locally on the ground.
The OEA run a number of webinars and events to ensure that supply chain engagement is increased in a positive way and to facilitate interactions and engagement across the supply chain tiers as much as possible, ultimately ensuring that further local benefit is delivered. Please take a look at our Events and Webinars pages regularly to keep up to date with opportunities to attend.
Project Supply Chain Plans (SCPs)
As part of a project’s development process, local offshore wind developers will need to apply for a Contract for Difference (CfD) scheme. This is the UK Government’s main mechanism for supporting new, low carbon electricity generation projects. As part of a CfD application, a new project is required to produce a Supply Chain Plan (SCP) which contains a range of commitments that it will deliver to further support:
- The supply chain and local businesses
- Innovation activities
- Skills initiatives
- Infrastructure development
- And lots more…
This means that a range of commitments across these areas will need to be delivered. Clusters such as the OEA are therefore becoming even more important for joining up developers with the supply chain to achieve the outcomes that have been agreed.
Supply Chain Funding Opportunities
To assist supply chain growth, the offshore wind industry has a number of programmes, initiatives and schemes to help SMEs and others to successfully enter the offshore wind market. A list of these initiatives is as follows:
