Renewable Energy Powerhouse Gets HBPW Stamp

A multi-million pounds project to extend the quayside at one of Scotland’s most important ‘renewables’ ports, features the HBPW hallmark.

Nigg Energy Park, known historically as Port of Nigg and located in Ross on the north shore of the entrance to the Cromarty Firth, has over 900 metres of deep-water quayside and caters for some of the world’s largest vessels.  

Its dry dock, the largest of its kind in Europe, works at full tilt and has a strong reputation for working with ships serving the renewables and oil and gas sectors. In 2020 the Cromarty Firth port recorded its busiest year ever for vessel visits.

As a result, facility owner, Global Energy Group, has taken the decision to construct a new ‘East Quay’ to complement the existing South and West Finger Quays. And they’ve called on HBPW to design the new ‘Combi Wall’ structure which will be instrumental in adding a further 700ft of capacity to the existing quayside infrastructure. 

The overall scheme represents an investment of £18.9m with around £8.3m of this coming from Scottish Government funding.

Engineer Tom Flint is working on the project from HBPW’s end.

“Nigg Energy Park is one of the busiest facility’s of its type in Scotland and, in simple terms, serves vessels which support two of the area’s key sectors: renewables and oil & gas. When this latest project completes – development work is scheduled to start in earnest next month – it will be key to helping the Highlands become a renewable energy power house.”

A major asset in servicing the oil and gas industry over many decades, the facility has more recently become an established hub in the growing renewables sector.

Its first major renewables project was the logistics and marshalling for the wind turbine scope for the Beatrice offshore wind development, during which time demand for quayside space began to exceed infrastructure capacity.

This demand, and the opportunities associated with wider growth in renewables, have been the major drivers behind this latest East Quay development.

“The new ‘combi wall’ quay,” said Tom, “will be constructed from sheet and tubular piles, similar in structure to the work HBPW has done at Dundee Port.

“We will also provide a raft of ancillary civils work, designing all the quay ‘furniture’ including some of the huge bollards used by ships to tie on to when berthing, and bases for light columns as well as quayside drainage.”

Once completed, the new facility is forecast to bring an additional £11.24 million in new business to the area in its first three years and create up to 39 new jobs. Work is expected to take around 14 to 16 months to complete.