Clean Energy Network Will Connect Yorkshire Coast Businesses To Offshore Opportunities

A new maritime and renewables cluster will launch this September to connect local businesses, education providers, and young people with the growing clean energy economy off the Yorkshire Coast.

Clean energy contracts and new career pathways will soon be more accessible to local businesses and young people as a new maritime and renewables network launches this September.

The North Yorkshire Maritime and Renewables Cluster aims to unite the supply chain across the region, linking coastal communities like Whitby, Scarborough, and Filey with inland engineering, technology, and training firms.

The initiative seeks to create an internationally credible centre for clean energy activity in the north of England, allowing local enterprises to capitalise on major offshore wind assets in the North Sea.

Project Lead Richard Askam said:

"It's the formation of a brand-new sector support group called North Yorkshire Maritime and Renewables. It's a cluster for the whole county, for any business or organization or education establishment that recognizes their connection to the maritime and renewables sector.

There's not a lack of willingness, there is a lack of cohesion, and I think with North Yorkshire being such a big county, the idea that somebody in Ripon knows that somebody in Whitby's got something that could be beneficial to them is for the birds. The dots already exist, it just requires something and somebody to join them up, so we've been asked to form this cluster group to support that entire sector and hopefully introduce people to people that they maybe should have already met."

The network will serve offshore wind developers, port operators, logistics firms, and education institutions, with a particular focus on the upcoming Dogger Bank development.

Richard Askam explained how the project builds on previous work in neighbouring regions:

"I've been involved in a similar project in the Humber for the last three years. And really that project is to bring forward the understanding and awareness of what those opportunities are to people that might not know that they exist. It's quite hard with offshore industries, you can't see them.

So we did this in the Humber predominantly based in Grimsby for the last three years and I was invited up to come to North Yorkshire to do the same on the basis that North Yorkshire's opportunity is about to begin.

The tees and the Humber have been working in this sector for some time. The wind farms that were connected to those ports have been operational for some time.

Dogger Bank, which is the big opportunity for the North Yorkshire coast, is about to come online. So really we're starting on the B of Bang as far as North Yorkshire is concerned."

He added that the local region is at the very beginning of its clean energy journey:

"Ultimately, I don't think that opportunity has started yet, so we are literally on page one of book one. I know the offshore industry has been there in the North Sea for some time, but the opportunity as it relates to North Yorkshire hasn't been there yet. It's about to be.

And rather interestingly, the companies that are involved in the ownership of Dogger Bank are equally as supportive of this cluster as anything, because we just need to join the dots, and it's something that we're not terribly good at as human beings. We're very capable and very willing, but we're not necessarily very communicative. So, one of our jobs as an organization is to bring all of those dots together."

Early research has already identified a strong baseline of regional enterprises ready to participate, with hopes that the network will also spur new startups.

Richard Askam outlined the initial scale of the network:

"Early research shows around about 500 businesses that would identify themselves as connected to those sectors in maritime renewals, but as we know from our experience in the Humber, there's many more businesses that will say, oh I supply into that, and I could do.

So we expect that 500 should be of great interest to them from that perspective. And then hopefully as we go along draw more people in and hopefully as well create new businesses as well. So it's about supporting existing businesses as well as hopefully encouraging new ones."

The shift towards renewable energy is already changing the traditional maritime landscape along the coast, offering new revenue streams for existing vessel owners.

He noted the enthusiasm among local boat operators:

"We're in the boating industry on the East Coast. For many years, that was fish. It's now energy. That's fine. You ask a skipper whether he can go to sea and earn a pound, and he'll say, "I'd I'd like to do that, please." As I say, I come from Grimsby. So, these these problems are not new as far as as I'm concerned.

But I think the enthusiasm for harbour and maritime industry as a whole is prevalent along the North Yorkshire coast. So, I think timing is everything, and this feels like a great time to get everybody lined up to, basically, help themselves."

The economic benefits are expected to ripple out well beyond direct maritime and engineering roles, reaching the wider hospitality and service sectors.

Richard Askam highlighted the broader supply chain impacts:

"Initially obviously it's servicing the wind farm, and we're talking about people, we're talking about crew, we're talking about engineers, um but as as has been proven up and down the east coast, there that extends further and farther out into the supply chain.

I come from a a background in Grimsby where my family business was the drinks industry. We never saw ourselves as part of the fishing industry, but guess what, most of our customers were fishermen. So the extension of the supply chain is as far as you want to take it to the accommodation providers that need to have somewhere for these people to stay, all the way down to the fish and chip providers that need to feed those people."

A key focus of the cluster will be on skills and education, aiming to retain local talent in coastal communities by providing clear career pathways.

He explained the importance of inspiring the next generation:

"Those people, by the way, are hopefully going to be our young people over the years, because our main pillar here is education. We want kids that are at school today, that might be staring out the window, wondering what's in it for them, to recognize and understand that there's opportunities along the North Yorkshire coast.

And if they choose to go away and travel and see the world, that's great, but they should always know that there's something to come back home to."

North Yorkshire Council officials say they provided funding to establish the group in recognition of its potential to drive regional innovation.

Head of Economy and Tourism Tony Watson said:

"North Yorkshire Council welcomes the development of the North Yorkshire Maritime and Renewables Cluster as a positive step in strengthening collaboration across this important sector.

The Council has supported the establishment of the cluster through funding, recognising the significant opportunities it offers for economic growth, skills development and innovation.

The opportunity extends well beyond the coast, with businesses and education providers across the county able to contribute to, and benefit from, the growth of the clean energy economy. By bringing together industry, skills and investment, the cluster has the potential to support economic growth, create new opportunities for local businesses and help ensure North Yorkshire is well positioned within the wider maritime and renewables sector."

A series of launch events will take place in September. Sessions are scheduled for Whitby at 11:00 am and Scarborough at 3:00 pm on Monday the 14th of September. Filey will host an event at 11:00 am on Tuesday the 15th of September, and an online webinar will follow on Wednesday the 16th of September. The events are open to businesses and organisations connected to the maritime and renewable energy supply chain, and to secondary, further and higher education institutions across North Yorkshire.

There is more information at https://nymandr.co.uk/