Scottish government has 'huge ambition' for offshore wind

The government hopes offshore wind could power eight million homes

Offshore wind has the potential to power more than eight million homes by 2030, according to the Scottish government.

It has published an "ambition" to harvest up to 11 gigawatts (GW) of power from the sector.

It comes after it was revealed that three Scottish yards were out of the running for a major offshore contract.

Owners of the BiFab yards in Fife and Lewis cited a refusal by ministers to provide financial guarantees.

The Scottish government said rules on state aid limited the amount of support it could offer.

Energy minister Paul Wheelhouse said the government was determined to "capitalise" on offshore capacity.

He said: "Our seas are host to some of the best offshore wind resources in the world and our ambition to capitalise on our offshore wind generation capacity is part of the bold action we are taking to support economic recovery and become a net-zero society."

The Scottish government has also adopted a plan identifying suitable areas for commercial-scale offshore wind projects.

It said this would "inform" the first seabed leasing process led by the newly devolved Crown Estate Scotland.

Mr Wheelhouse added: "The plan is based on extensive consultation and seeks to balance the vital importance of our marine environment and other key sectors with the huge ambition and opportunity we have for the offshore wind sector."

Fabrice Leveque, from environmental campaigners WWF Scotland, said the new plan would help grow an industry that was vital to reach net-zero climate emissions by 2045.

He said each project created the potential for hundreds of jobs and urged governments to work together to make sure the work went to local suppliers.