How to turn Scotland’s immense offshore wind potential into a reality – to deliver jobs, infrastructure, export opportunities and a world class renewable energy sector?

Reflections on the Global Offshore Wind Investment Forum hosted by the Scottish government. My five top tips …

1)  Demonstrate strong political commitment: Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney,  Energy Minister Gillian Martin and UK Energy Minister Michael Shanks MP all sang from the same hymn sheet about Scotland’s offshore wind potential. “It’s the economic opportunity of the century” not just for Scotland but also the rest of the UK - refreshing to see London and Edinburgh so well aligned in the midst of international policy turmoil.

2)  Be open to challenging questions: Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes MSP’s willingness to engage with the “yes, but” questions from investors was truly impressive - her candour won plaudits all round. Honest conversations between the public and private sectors are essential to unlock private sector finance at a time when global interest rate horizons are so uncertain.

3)  Get the right people in the room: this was an investor conference with a laser focus on how to make a nascent industry bankable, scalable and investable. Panel discussions led by Mark Munro and Adrian Gillespie focused on de-risking large infrastructure projects. Subsea cable manufacturer HLCC plus investors and port operators - Haventus, Forth Ports Limited, Peel Ports Group, ARDERSIER PORT LIMITED - discussed why they believe the time to invest is now.

4)  Roll-up your sleeves in the breakout sessions: interactive afternoon sessions led by Jane Cooper, Claire Mack, Kirsty Adams and Iain Sinclair dived into the nitty gritty of policy frameworks, the developers’ perspective, establishing competitive domestic supply chains and port infrastructure. It was brilliant to see the conference room still packed until the very last plenary session of the day.

5)  Follow up: every question sent in via the Slido app received a follow-up response from #TeamScotland. Now it’s over to the private sector…Scotland is open for business!