Hunterston adds to Scottish Offshore Supply Chain

On 29th June 2022, the North Ayrshire Council Planning Committee resolved to grant planning permission for XLCC’s HVDC subsea cable manufacturing operations in Hunterston, North Ayrshire. This facility, and the jobs it supports, will support the development of the offshore wind sector in Scotland and across Europe.

Development of Scottish Supply Chain

The Offshore Wind Industry Council has predicted that by 2030, there will be over 29,000 jobs in Scotland that are supported by the offshore wind sector. This will account for almost a third of all jobs in the UK sector and will make the offshore wind sector in Scotland the largest of any region of the UK. To achieve this there will need to be significant investments in facilities, such as those proposed at Hunterston, to add to the manufacturing capacity in Scotland.

The manufacturing of export cables that will now happen at Hunterston represents a significant economic opportunity. It is estimated that these cables account for 4% of the total costs of an offshore wind farm, or the equivalent of over £3 billion for the ScotWind projects. This would therefore be a significant contribution to the ambition of achieving 60% of UK content, as outlined in the UK Offshore Wind Sector Deal.

The facility will support 900 jobs directly, which is equivalent to 3% of the total jobs that are expected to be supported by the offshore wind sector in Scotland by 2030. Additional manufacturing facilities, such as those proposed at Cromarty and in other Greenport applications, will also be required to meet the ambition of over 29,000 jobs in Scotland by 2030.

Economic Impact of the Hunterston HVDC Cable Facility

BiGGAR Economics was commissioned to undertake an economic impact assessment of the proposed Hutnerston HVDC Cable factory. This found that in addition to the 900 jobs that will be supported directly on the site, the factory will also support more than double that in the wider supply chain across the UK.

In addition to the important contribution that the factory will make towards the development of the Scottish and UK offshore wind supply chains, the facility will contribute to the economic development of the Hunterston area. The 900 jobs that will be directly supported in North Ayrshire will have a significant impact in the local economy, particularly because the development of the project will come after the closure of the Hunterston nuclear power plant, which had been one of the main sources of employment in the area.

Further Reading

More information on the proposed cable manufacturing facility at Hunterston can be found at:

• XLCC Press Release - XLCC obtains planning approval to build UK’s first HVDC cable factory in North Ayrshire
• Socio-economic impact assessment from EIA - Chapter 14 Socio-economics