10th November 2026
The future of one of Caithness's most significant renewable energy developments has come under fresh scrutiny after Swedish energy company Hexicon AB revealed that it could face liquidation because of serious financial difficulties.
The development is particularly relevant to Caithness because Hexicon holds a 10% interest in the Pentland Floating Offshore Wind Farm, planned approximately 7.5 kilometres off the coast of Dounreay.
The company has called a shareholders' meeting for 25 November 2026 to consider whether it should enter liquidation or attempt to continue operating. Its board has proposed continuing the business, but admits that the short-term financing needed to keep it running has not yet been secured.
The announcement raises questions about the future of Hexicon's involvement in Pentland and whether the difficulties could cause delays to a project that has been presented as an important opportunity for the Caithness economy.
A project with considerable backing
There are, however, reasons not to assume that Pentland is about to collapse.
The wind farm is being developed through Highland Wind Limited, which is majority owned by funds managed by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP). Hexicon is a minority shareholder, rather than the main developer.
The project also has substantial public-sector backing. In November 2025, Great British Energy, the National Wealth Fund and the Scottish National Investment Bank each acquired an initial minority stake, with options to invest up to £50 million apiece as the project progresses.
Japanese energy company Eurus Energy is also involved.
This means that the financial difficulties of Hexicon do not automatically put the entire development at risk. The remaining shareholders have a significant interest in protecting their investment and could potentially find a way to deal with Hexicon's stake if liquidation becomes unavoidable.
Nevertheless, a change in ownership, legal complications or uncertainty over future funding could create additional work and delay decisions.
Why the project matters to Caithness
Pentland is planned as a 100MW floating offshore wind farm. Once operational, it is expected to generate enough electricity to power up to 70,000 homes.
That is a substantial contribution from a relatively compact development and demonstrates the potential of floating technology to exploit offshore wind resources where conventional fixed foundations are unsuitable.
The project secured a Contract for Difference in the UK Government's seventh allocation round in January 2026, at a strike price of £216.49 per megawatt hour. This provides an important element of long-term revenue certainty.
The current timetable envisages a final investment decision by the end of 2027, with commercial operations expected to begin in 2030.
The development has also been associated with the potential to support more than 1,000 jobs across construction and operations. These are projected employment benefits rather than guaranteed local jobs, but the opportunities for engineering, marine services, fabrication, maintenance and specialist supply companies could be considerable.
For Caithness, the important question is how much of that economic activity can be secured locally rather than being delivered by companies and workforces based elsewhere.
Floating wind is still an emerging industry
Hexicon's difficulties also highlight a wider problem facing the floating offshore wind industry.
Floating wind turbines offer the opportunity to develop wind farms in deeper waters, opening up areas that cannot easily accommodate conventional fixed-bottom turbines.
Scotland has considerable potential in this field. Its offshore resources, engineering experience and existing energy infrastructure could give it an important position in a developing international industry.
However, promising technology does not automatically translate into commercially successful projects.
Developers need substantial investment, reliable supply chains, engineering expertise and the ability to withstand years of development expenditure before projects begin generating revenue.
Hexicon has itself acknowledged that its day-to-day operating costs have become dependent on unsecured capital inflows. Its difficulties illustrate how vulnerable specialist developers can become when investment and project development do not progress as quickly as anticipated.
There is also a wider question about whether the financial structures supporting early floating wind developments are sufficiently robust to cope with delays, rising costs and changing investor confidence.
An opportunity that Caithness cannot afford to overlook
Pentland should be seen as more than another wind farm.
Caithness has spent many years looking for new industries capable of replacing some of the employment and economic activity associated with the nuclear industry at Dounreay.
The transition towards renewable energy offers opportunities, but there is no guarantee that these will automatically reach local communities.
The involvement of Great British Energy, the National Wealth Fund and the Scottish National Investment Bank is encouraging because it brings public investment alongside private capital. It also creates an expectation that the economic benefits should extend beyond the financial returns received by investors.
Local businesses need to be prepared to compete for contracts, while colleges and training providers should be looking at the engineering and technical skills that future offshore developments will require.
The recent involvement of Westhill-based Subsea Micropiles in Pentland's site investigations and mooring design is an example of the specialist supply-chain activity already beginning to emerge.
It is precisely this type of work that Caithness businesses should be seeking to attract.
November could be an important turning point
The immediate attention will be on Hexicon's shareholders' meeting on 25 November.
The company's board has recommended that it should continue operating and believes there is a realistic route forward. However, the financing measures it has identified remain unsecured, leaving considerable uncertainty.
If Hexicon enters liquidation, its interest in Pentland will have to be addressed. That does not necessarily mean the other investors will abandon the project, but it could complicate the development process.
For now, there are strong reasons to distinguish between the financial difficulties of one shareholder and the viability of the wider wind farm.
Pentland has significant institutional backing, a government-backed electricity price agreement and a stated route towards a final investment decision in 2027.
But the latest announcement is a reminder that major renewable energy developments are not immune to financial difficulties.
For Caithness, the stakes are higher than the fortunes of one Swedish energy company. Pentland represents a potential opportunity to build a new generation of skilled employment and energy-related businesses around the existing industrial base.
That opportunity remains alive, but local people and businesses will be watching closely to see whether the project can turn its considerable promise into reality.