Question to the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of the development of (a) Dounreay TrÍ, (b) Forthwind and (c) Kincardine offshore wind projects on the (i) the UK and (ii) Scottish economy.

The potential effect on the UK and Scottish economy would depend upon a number of factors including the size of the projects, their individual procurement plans and the levels of local content achieved. For example, it has been reported that equipment and components for certain elements of these projects could be sourced from a range of locations, including Europe and the Far East.

Whilst floating offshore wind is still at a relatively early stage of development, it could have a role in the long-term decarbonisation and contribute to our Industrial Strategy, if it can demonstrate that it can bring down costs and compete with other forms of low carbon generation.