Shepherd and Wedderburn warns of renewables supply chain bottleneck
May, 2010 - Edinburgh, Scotland
Leading UK law firm Shepherd and Wedderburn has issued a stark warning to offshore renewable energy developers – plan ahead or the supply chain simply might not be there when you need it.
Considerable efforts are underway to encourage the oil and gas supply chain to transfer their skills to the burgeoning offshore renewables industry. However, with oil prices back up in the $75-85 range and activity picking up again in the oil and gas sector, renewables developers need to ensure they don’t lose out on accessing limited supply chain resources.
Richard Cockburn, partner in Shepherd and Wedderburn’s Aberdeen office, said: “Increased oil prices mean many oil and gas supply chain companies are preferring to focus on the oil and gas sector because they know it best. Offshore renewables developers therefore need to implement a contracting strategy now to ensure they don’t suffer from a bottleneck when they construct and operate their own offshore facilities.
“Renewables firms can’t afford to be complacent if the industry is to develop the hugely significant Round 3 and Scottish Territorial Waters projects over the next decade.”
