Fife has become a foundation for the offshore renewable energy industry in Scotland due to its history in marine engineering and offshore oil and gas. Major companies in offshore wind, wave, and tidal energy have located operations in Fife to take advantage of its skilled workforce and facilities. This includes the development of the largest offshore wind farms in the UK, pioneering wave and tidal demonstration projects, and the establishment of research centers like the Hydrogen Office. Fife now has over 100 companies directly involved in renewable energy and is driving the commercialization of emerging technologies.

1. The Story of Fife Renewable Energy Sector
….. Or How Fife became the
Foundation of the offshore
renewables industry in Scotland

2. History and Introduction
Marine engineering has long been the foundation of Fife’s industrial heritage.
Renewable energy is now the latest driver for growth. Offshore wind is latest activity
that can be traced back to fishing, Naval construction, and large scale fabrication for
the North sea oil and gas industry. Following offshore wind, activities in wave and
tidal generation, and storage technologies are also now established.
1900 1960 1980 2000 2010
1909 Large scale Marine Engineering Rosyth Naval Dock yard
1965 BAE establishes its advanced electronics capability to be close to the dockyard
1975 First North Sea Oil discovered
1987 Babcock acquires Rosyth Dock yard
1990 BiFab sets up to support Oil + Gas fabrication
1995 Fife Engineering cluster becomes one of largest in Scotland
2002 Oceaneering locates in Rosyth to support North Sea Activities
2009 Enertrag Wind farms company opens office
2011 Rolls Royce prototype tidal turbine generates over 100 MWh of electrical power
2011 Hydrogen Office builds electric van powered by wind.
2011 Samsung announces office in Fife
2012 2B Energy announces 6MW turbine demonstrator
2012 St Andrews University spin out Pam Buoy to assist optimal environmental location of wind farms

3. Offshore Key events
In July 1887, Scottish inventor James Blyth built a cloth-sailed
wind turbine in the garden of his holiday cottage. He used the
electricity it produced to charge batteries. The stored electricity
was used to power the lights in his cottage
One of the greatest challenges for Europe’s commitment to greater energy security
through the adoption of renewable energies is to harness the power of the wind in one
of the world’s most stormy seascapes. Few locations have the engineering experience
to be able to drive forward the implementation of new technologies in such an
environment. Fife’s maritime engineering heritage has attracted the major international
players to develop up to 5 GW of offshore wind farms.
Fife is also pioneering the next generations with the construction of wind generators
such as Aquamarine Powers Oyster device, and leading the field for storage
technologies at the Hydrogen Office’s site in the Fife Renewable Energy Centre.
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
BiFab – build Beatrice DOWNVInD demonstrator jackets
BiFab build 30 Jackets for Vattenfall
BiFab – Manufacture first Aquamarine wave energy generator
BiFab – Manufacture Hammerfest Strom Tidal device
Siemens announces locating in Fife
Hydrogen Office set up at FRIC
Samsung establish operation in Fife
950MW Inchcape field Repsol
360MW Neart na Gaoithe – Mainstream
First phase 1050MW Firth of Forth Round 3 field Seagreen Wind Energy

4. Foundation of Offshore
Renewables
le s
ab
n ew
Re
re
fs ho
o Of
, t
Gas
a nd First UK Deepwater
l
, Oi Offshore wind
ne
Aquamarine
Mari First Wave Generator
om
Fr

5. Company presence
1810 Henry Balfour & Company Limited
1921 Lamond and Murray Ltd
1947 Narvida Ltd
1957 Gray & Adams (Dunfermline) Ltd.
1965 BAE Systems, Maritime Services, Manufacturing Hillend
1970 Briggs Marine & Environmental Services
1972 Fife Fabrications Limited
1976 Fife Blacksmiths & Steel Fabrications
1979 Bridgeforth Engineering Ltd.
1981 Quality Precision Electronics Ltd
1987 Babcock
1990 Flexenergy
1995 Rolls-Royce Dunfermline Site
2000 i4 Product Design
2001 Burntisland Fabrications Ltd
2001 QinetiQ Ltd Rosyth
2004 Malcargo Marine Services
2006 Itasco Precision Ltd
2007 SOI Ltd
2009 MH Engineering (Fife) Ltd. Company Directory
2011 Greenfold Systems Ltd

6. Greening Fife
RWE npower renewables, has started to build its biomass
combined heat and power (CHP) plant in Markinch, Fife (Scotland).
The new plant is the biggest of its kind in the UK.
Energy Power Resources (EPR) Ltd, Westfield was the first
chicken litter fuelled plant in the world to use advanced fluidised
bed combustion. The plant was the first biomass fuelled generator
in Scotland. The maximum power output from the plant is 9.8 MW.
Small scale
– Biomass
– Wind
– Solar
Mid scale
– Biomass
– Heat pumps
Large Scale
– Biomass
Assist rural small businesses review their energy use and adopt a renewable technology.
Help them to develop their business in the small scale renewables and grow their market share.

7. Fife - The Heart of
Renewable Energy in
Scotland
Iain Shirlaw
Fife Council
Economic Development
Iain.shirlaw@fife.gov.uk