Support for skills and supply chains required to power North Sea Transition Deal

Support for skills and supply chains required to power North Sea Transition Deal

Businesses following the recent raft of flagship green support measures, announced to support energy transition in the north east of Scotland, could be forgiven for losing track last month.

Barry Fraser, director and head of energy and natural resources at Grant Thornton in Scotland, explains: “March saw large industry players, Holyrood, and Westminster governments, all up the ante to support the drive for net-zero. With just over seven months to go before Glasgow hosts the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), the agenda has ignited.

“The UK budget unveiled welcome financial backing for the Aberdeen Energy Transition Zone and further investment in the city's underwater engineering hub. Days later, we received news that green hydrogen is to power whisky distilleries in Easter Ross, an example of genuine innovation and collaboration between two of Scotland's core industries if ever there was one.”

Capping what must rank as one of the most seismic months in energy transition was the long-awaited publication of the North Sea Transition Deal (NSTD). The headline is a joint promise from government and industry to invest £16 billion within the next decade to support energy transition, a move which establishes the UK as the first G7 country to agree a transition