The Crown Estate has announced the dates of five events aimed at developing the UK supply chain for the offshore wind industry.

The events will held in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and are being hosted with partners across the country, including Envirolink.

They will bring together key industry players to promote the development of specialist supply chains, maintain confidence in the market and boost the drive to increase offshore renewable manufacturing opportunities in the UK.

Key industry figures will come together to examine a range of supply chain components, from workforce skills and infrastructure, to the regulatory environment, which will together provide the building block for the offshore wind industry’s deployment.


The timely development of an effective supply chain will be essential to realising the UK’s ambitious offshore renewable energy targets.

The UK already has a world leading offshore wind programme, producing around 1.8GW a year. By 2020 and beyond the industry could offer a pipeline of projects delivering over 8GW.

This presents a substantial opportunity for investment and the creation of new jobs.

Research by Renewable UK estimates that UK wind industry jobs will total some 57,000 by 2020. The European Wind Energy Association estimates that by 2020 the number of jobs in the EU wind industry will more than double from 154,000 to 325,000, which could lead to significant opportunities for the UK to export expertise internationally.

The Crown Estate’s position at the centre of the industry puts it in an ideal position to facilitate a series of events that provide a global view of the UK offshore wind programme, delve into the specific details of individual projects and enable networking through supply chain themed seminars and exhibitions.

The 2012 UK dates are:

Wales: Thursday 10 May Llandudno

Northern Ireland: Tuesday 15 May Belfast

England: Thursday 17 May, Newcastle

England: Thursday 31 May, Birmingham

Scotland: Thursday 24 May All-Energy Day 2, Aberdeen