The Story of Fife Renewable Energy Sector

….. Or How Fife became the Foundation of the offshore

renewables industry in Scotland

History and Introduction

Marine engineering has long been the foundation of Fife’s industrial heritage. Renewable energy is now the latest driver for growth. Offshore wind is latest activity that can be traced back to fishing, Naval construction, and large scale fabrication for the North sea oil and gas industry. Following offshore wind, activities in wave and tidal generation, and storage technologies are also now established.

1900 1960 1980 2000 20101909 Large scale Marine Engineering Rosyth Naval Dock yard

1965 BAE establishes its advanced electronics capability to be close to the dockyard1975 First North Sea Oil discovered

1987 Babcock acquires Rosyth Dock yard1990 BiFab sets up to support Oil + Gas fabrication

1995 Fife Engineering cluster becomes one of largest in Scotland2002 Oceaneering locates in Rosyth to support North Sea Activities

2009 Enertrag Wind farms company opens office2011 Rolls Royce prototype tidal turbine generates over 100 MWh of electrical power2011 Hydrogen Office builds electric van powered by wind.2011 Samsung announces office in Fife

2012 2B Energy announces 6MW turbine demonstrator2012 St Andrews University spin out Pam Buoy to assist optimal environmental location of wind farms

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012BiFab – build Beatrice DOWNVInD demonstrator jackets

BiFab build 30 Jackets for VattenfallBiFab – Manufacture first Aquamarine wave energy generator

BiFab – Manufacture Hammerfest Strom Tidal deviceSiemens announces locating in Fife

Hydrogen Office set up at FRIC Samsung establish operation in Fife 950MW Inchcape field Repsol

360MW Neart na Gaoithe – Mainstream First phase 1050MW Firth of Forth Round 3 field Seagreen Wind Energy

Offshore Key events

In July 1887, Scottish inventor James Blyth built a cloth-sailed wind turbine in the garden of his holiday cottage. He used the electricity it produced to charge batteries. The stored electricity was used to power the lights in his cottage

One of the greatest challenges for Europe’s commitment to greater energy security through the adoption of renewable energies is to harness the power of the wind in one of the world’s most stormy seascapes. Few locations have the engineering experience to be able to drive forward the implementation of new technologies in such an environment. Fife’s maritime engineering heritage has attracted the major international players to develop up to 5 GW of offshore wind farms.Fife is also pioneering the next generations with the construction of wind generators such as Aquamarine Powers Oyster device, and leading the field for storage technologies at the Hydrogen Office’s site in the Fife Renewable Energy Centre.

Foundation of Offshore

Renewables

From Marin

e, Oil a

nd Gas, to

Offs

hore Renewables

First UK Deepwater Offshore windAquamarine

First Wave Generator

Company presence

Company Directory

1810 Henry Balfour & Company Limited 1921 Lamond and Murray Ltd

1947 Narvida Ltd

1957 Gray & Adams (Dunfermline) Ltd.

1965 BAE Systems, Maritime Services, Manufacturing Hillend

1970 Briggs Marine & Environmental Services

1972 Fife Fabrications Limited

1976 Fife Blacksmiths & Steel Fabrications

1979 Bridgeforth Engineering Ltd.

1981 Quality Precision Electronics Ltd

1987 Babcock

1990 Flexenergy

1995 Rolls-Royce Dunfermline Site

2000 i4 Product Design

2001 Burntisland Fabrications Ltd

2001 QinetiQ Ltd Rosyth

2004 Malcargo Marine Services

2006 Itasco Precision Ltd

2007 SOI Ltd

2009 MH Engineering (Fife) Ltd.

2011 Greenfold Systems Ltd

Greening Fife

Small scale – Biomass– Wind – Solar

Mid scale– Biomass– Heat pumps

Large Scale– Biomass

RWE npower renewables, has started to build its biomass combined heat and power (CHP) plant in Markinch, Fife (Scotland). The new plant is the biggest of its kind in the UK.

Energy Power Resources (EPR) Ltd, Westfield was the first chicken litter fuelled plant in the world to use advanced fluidised

bed combustion. The plant was the first biomass fuelled generator in Scotland. The maximum power output from the plant is 9.8 MW.

Assist rural small businesses review their energy use and adopt a renewable technology. Help them to develop their business in the small scale renewables and grow their market share.

Fife - The Heart of

Renewable Energy in

Scotland

Iain ShirlawFife Council

Economic DevelopmentIain.shirlaw@fife.gov.uk