Highlands on brink of £100bn green bonanza – Daily Business

The Highlands and islands are being presented with a “once in a generation” opportunity to secure £100 billion of investment that will create thousands of jobs in green industries, outstripping the North Sea oil sector, according to a new report.

It also urges “a prompt response” from the wide range of organisations and partners “who can and must play a role” to ensure benefits are maximised and not lost to other areas eyeing a similar prize.

The study was commissioned by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) in partnership with the Highlands and Islands Regional Economic Partnership (HIREP) and carried out by research specialists Ekosgen.

It forsees 251 large scale projects in the region creating more than 18,000 jobs by 2040 with about 16,000 supported at the peak of the construction phase.

Industries such as tourism and food and drink as well as public-sector spending, on things such as roads, schools and medical facilities, were not included.

Instead it focuses on projects such as pumped storage, green hydrogen and marine energy. Other areas include infrastructure improvements to the electricity grid, ports and harbours as well as expansions in the space sector and life sciences.

Stuart Black, the chief executive of Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), believes the area has the potential to be the “engine room” for growing the Scottish economy in the coming years.

He said: “We know there’s a lot to get right. Bringing these projects to fruition means addressing some serious challenges facing the region and a strong commitment to partnership.

“But the sheer scale of the potential prize from these efforts makes all that very worthwhile, and that’s where our focus should be.

“The report will be crucial in informing decisions around things like planning and investment in order to realise as much of the potential benefits as possible.”

Councillor Raymond Bremner, chairman of the Highlands and Islands Regional Economic Partnership (HIREP), said: “We stand on the brink of a once-in-a-generation opportunity for economic transformation.

“This scale of opportunity is unprecedented for the Highlands and islands, and possibly for Scotland and the UK.”

The document will be discussed today at the Convention of the Highlands and Islands in Strathpeffer which is being attended by Kate Forbes, the deputy first minister.

Also published today is a five-year strategy by the Scottish Futures Trust, which advises on public infrastructure.

Peter Reekie, the trust chief executive, believes a mutual investment model, where public and private sector finance projects together then share in profit from any long-term contracts, will be attractive to potential backers from the UK and overseas.