Advisory / Counseling Services News
Week Commencing 20th July 2015 Energy & Business Services The Ministry of Defence's Naval Reactor Test Establishment (NRTE) at Vulcan saw its test reactor shut down for the last time this week, marking the first time in around 60 years that there has not been an operational reactor in Caithness. The facility beside the Dounreay site is operated for the MoD by Rolls Royce.
Week Commencing 13th July 2015 Energy & Business Services Good to catch up this week with Louise Smith of Caithness Renewables, and to hear the welcome news that the project she has been working on with Caithness Voluntary Group and Transition Black Isle has taken a big step forward. ACTION Highland Highway has been awarded £35,000 from CNSRP partner Scottish Government's Local Energy Challenge Fund in order to help establish a network of electric vehicle charging points, using an innovative link with Denchi Power, who supply batteries for use by the Ministry of Defence.
The contract applies to twelve sites throughout the UK managed by the decommissioning company Magnox Ltd as well as the nuclear site at Dounreay in Caithness, Scotland, Radioactive Waste Management Limited's site in Harwell and the Low-Level Waste Repository in West Cumbria. A number of segments make up the contrac.
Caberfeidh Court. Caberfeidh Court is situated in a quiet residential area in Wellington Avenue in Wick and is available for people aged 50 or over.
A series of key appointments have been made to Wave Energy Scotland (WES) as the new research and development organisation sets up an Advisory Group. WES received over fifty applications from interested parties keen to be involved in the group.
Digital connectivity is changing forever on the Outer Hebrides with the announcement today (Tuesday 7 July) that high-speed fibre broadband is live in Stornoway. Around 3,600 premises in Stornoway will be the first to have access to the new services thanks to the Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband project.
Week commencing 29 June 2015. Energy & Business Services A reminder that next week will see Marine Scotland colleagues in the area to run consultation events on the Pentland Firth & Orkney Waters Marine Spatial Plan.
Thirty-eight businesses across the Highlands, islands and Cairngorms National Park area have been shortlisted for the area's most prestigious food and drink awards. Finalists ranged from new businesses to established producers; family-run restaurants to Michelin-starred establishments and demonstrated the strength and diversity of food and drink businesses across the region.
Pupils from Wick High School and Lamlash Primary School on the Isle of Arran have been announced as winners of a dragon's den style competition to design apps that solve real-world problems. The Highlands and Islands ‘Apps for Good' final took place today where schools from across the region pitched their products via live videos to a panel of judges based at UHI’s executive office in Inverness.
Week Commencing 22 June 2015. Energy & Business Services Following their attendance at last week's Wick RNLI Open Day this week's Caithness Courier carries a piece on the team from Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Ltd (BOWL), who took a stand at the event to promote the project.
Week commencing 15th June 2015 Energy & Business Services Good to meet representatives from SSE Power Distribution in Thurso this week as they undertook a final consultation on the proposed route for the new high voltage overhead line from a new substation at Thurso to a new substation at Philips Mains near Mey. The project has been the subject of three separate consultation phases since June 2011, and this phase shows how previous comments on the route have been taken into account before an application for consent is submitted to Highland Council this summer.
Week commencing 8th June 2015 Energy & Business Services Good to see today's John O'Groat Journal piece welcoming the current survey work being carried out at Wick Harbour using a jack-up barge. The survey work is being used to support the design of onshore Operation & Maintenance (O&M) facilities for the Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Ltd (BOWL) project in the Moray Firth.
Social enterprises in the Highlands and Islands are helping Scotland tackle social issues, promote equality and achieve economic growth, a major summit on the sector heard today (Wednesday 10 June). Social enterprises trade like any other business, but at their heart they have a social purpose; trading for social, community and environmental benefits and reinvesting their profits to deliver their social purpose.
Week Commencing 1st June 2015 Energy & Business Services Great to see news this week that a new company is being set up with bases in Aberdeen and Lybster, creating 16 jobs between the two areas - 5 of those being planned in Caithness. Enerquip is Chaired by Andrew Polson, the Caithness native who set up AMC Engineering before its purchase by Forum Energy Technologies.
Week Commencing 25th May 2015 Energy & Business Services Catching up this week with June Love and Roy Kirk of HIE, who continue to meet companies with an interest in establishing operations in the area. Several discussions have re-opened following an understandably quieter period for companies in the oil & gas industry.
Communities living on Scottish Government-owned crofting estates are being offered assistance to investigate buying their own land, in a support package announced today (Friday 22 May). Dr Aileen McLeod, Scotland's Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform announced the support while addressing the Community Land Scotland annual conference in Inverness.
Week Commencing 18 May 2015 Energy & Business Services Following mention in last week's email about current activity at the Forss Business & Technology Park, it is good to see the coverage in today's (Friday's) press about the partnership between Abbey Ecosse and Enercon, which will see Enercon establishing a service base at Forss for its operations and maintenance personnel in the north. This is one of several developments being worked on for the Park, and new jobs are likely to result from this.
Week commencing 11 May 2015. Energy & Business Services Encouraging progress continues to be made at the Forss Business & Technology Park, which is now being operated by Abbey Ecosse.
From week commencing 30th March to week commencing 4th May 2015. Energy & Business Services The MeyGen tidal project in the Inner Sound of the Pentland Firth continues to make progress.
AN excellent range of one-bedroom and studio flats with affordable rents are available now at Caberfeidh Court in Wick. Cairn Housing Association has 36 high quality properties that are available exclusively to people over 50 years of age.