Weeks commencing 20th & 27th May Energy & Business Services: The Beatrice Offshore Windfarm project this week reached an output capacity of 587.9MW (its installed capacity is 588MW), which is the highest output from any renewable source in Scotland. And as the construction phase of the Beatrice Offshore project comes to an end it is good to see that offshore piling operations have begun for the Moray East offshore windfarm development.
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A new £4.5m life sciences building was officially opened at Inverness Campus by the Deputy First Minister Mr John Swinney, on Monday 20 May 2019. Called ‘Solasta House', it offers flexible space for new and expanding technology and life sciences companies and is already home to eight companies and could be 75 percent full by the summer.
SpaceHub Sutherland: The team continued with a programme of drop-in events on the ground around the area this week, running drop-in events at the Village Hall in Skerray and the Kinlochbervie Hotel. For details on the project and the programme of events see http://www.hie.co.uk/regional-information/area-information/caithness-and-sutherland/uk-space-port/community-engagement.html Energy & Business Services: As previously highlighted, a meeting was held in Thurso to highlight the newly-established DeepWind Offshore Supply Chain Cluster.
Week Commencing 29 April 2019. Energy & Business Services: As we see positive progress with the Beatrice Offshore Windfarm development, and the development of both Moray East and West projects, a new initiative to support supply chain companies to learn more about opportunities will be held in Thurso on 13th May.
The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and US Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) have completed the transfer of around 700kg of highly enriched uranium (HEU) from Dounreay, in the north of Scotland, to the US. The HEU transfer, from Dounreay to the United States, was announced by the UK Government as part of its commitment to the 2016 Nuclear Security Summit held in Washington DC.
Weeks commencing 8th-22nd April 2019. Energy & Business Services: It was good to see the announcement this week by Dounreay that its Decommissioning Services Framework had gone live.
Dounreay Site Restoration Limited (DSRL) has opened the door to dozens of companies to play an active role in supporting the delivery of Scotland's largest decommissioning project. Construction of a size reduction facility, shaft and silo decommissioning and demolition of historic active laboratories are just some of the major projects expected to be delivered as part of a decommissioning services framework, potentially worth up to £400 million, which was announced on Tuesday 23rd April 2019.
The Highlands & Islands Food & Drink Awards, now in their fifteenth year, will be held on Friday 15 November 2019 at the Kingsmills Hotel in Inverness. With some of the best natural produce in the world, the Awards showcase and celebrate excellence and achievement in the food and drink industry in the region.
Week Commencing 8th April 2019 Energy & Business Services: It was good to see this week in the Press & Journal's Energy Voice a piece confirming the transformational impact that the Beatrice Offshore project is having on Wick. It is a timely reminder that although the £2.6Bn project is nearing the end of its construction phase, the economic impacts in the north will continue over the lifetime of the project through the operations base in the restored harbourfront buildings in Wick, which will be home to around 90 workers.
Twelve Highland business leaders have been selected to take part in the next IMPACT30 programme. The programme aims to support the next generation of business leaders, by providing personalised support, coaching and mentoring responsive to their unique growth needs.
An extended online portal that helps small to medium enterprises in the Highlands and Islands find new business opportunities from large contracts, will be launched on Thursday (4 April 2019). The Open4Business (O4B) portal was originally set up in 2012 by SSE to link supply chain firms with large SSE construction projects.
Week Commencing 25th March 2019 SpaceHub Sutherland: The team's weekly presence in Tongue continued this week, and June Love from the team also delivered a presentation on the project to members of the Thurso & Wick Trades Union Council at its meeting this week. I attend all of the Trades Council's meetings, so it was good to hear the unanimously positive reaction to June's update from members (see Communications below for feedback on my discussion with members).
Architects have been appointed to design the spaceport that is being developed to launch small satellites from the Highlands. Development agency Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) is leading the £17.5m Space Hub Sutherland project, including a £2.5m grant from the UK Space Agency (UKSA).
Three inspirational coaches will lead the latest edition of the Pathfinder programme which aims to put businesses in the Highlands and Islands on the fast track to success. A 12-week accelerator course hosted by entrepreneurial experts Steve Thomas, Danny Meaney, and Dr Andy Kelly offers a unique opportunity for businesses to pressure test their ideas and hone the perfect pitch.
Week commencing 18 March 2019. Energy & Business Services: I'm delighted to see yesterday's news that Restore Digital have announced the creation of 39 new job opportunities in Wick.
Weeks commencing 4th & 11th March 2019. SpaceHub Sutherland: Further community engagement events have taken place this week - a drop-in event was held in Tongue on Wednesday, followed by a further drop-in event in Wick on Thursday.
Over the years, we have helped many companies throughout the Highlands and Islands to explore their exporting potential and be business brave. In our latest film, which has been viewed over 1,600 times already on Facebook, we featured just a small selection of these businesses.
HI-Scot has been in existence since 2006, though up until 2010 was under the name of Western Isles Credit Union. The name was changed to HI-Scot to reflect that fact that we'd moved to a position of serving all of the Highlands & Islands, and indeed anyone who lives or works in this area can apply to join us.
Did you know that France is looking for dairy products, the demand for craft beer is high in Thailand, and Switzerland is in need of engineering services? You can find out where in the world the demand for your product or service is on the Department of International Trade website. With over 17,000 export sales lead, you can also pitch your company to overseas buyers who are looking for products and services like yours.
