The UK Government has confirmed £17.3 million in funding for Aberdeen’s Energy Transition Zone, delivering on a commitment made by the previous Conservative administration but left unfunded before the general election.
Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander announced the investment during a visit to Aberdeen on 30 October, describing it as vital infrastructure spending that will “create jobs and bring down bills”. The funding will be deployed over the next three years to prepare development sites adjacent to Aberdeen South Harbour for clean energy businesses, with a particular focus on offshore wind manufacturing and supply chain operations.
ETZ Ltd, the not-for-profit company leading the development, will use the capital injection to advance site preparation works at locations including St Fittick’s Park and the former Doonies Farm site, transforming them into a globally recognised green energy cluster. The zone aims to capitalise on Aberdeen South Harbour’s recently completed £420 million expansion, which provides deepwater berths up to 14.8 metres deep and extensive laydown areas purpose-built for offshore wind component handling.
Controversial Site Selection Sparked Community Opposition
The funding announcement arrives amid continued controversy over ETZ Ltd’s proposed use of St Fittick’s Park, which has generated sustained opposition from Torry residents and environmental campaigners who argue the development represents an unjust sacrifice imposed on one of Aberdeen’s most deprived communities.
St Fittick’s Park represents the only substantial green space within walking distance for many Torry residents, described by locals as a “sanctuary” and by ecologists as “irreplaceable”. The park was reclassified from protected greenspace to an opportunity site for industrial development through Aberdeen City Council’s Local Development Plan adopted in June 2023, a decision that shocked many residents who received notification by letterbox.
Community group Friends of St Fittick’s Park mounted a legal challenge against Aberdeen City Council, arguing the local authority failed to discharge its responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010 by not conducting an equality impact assessment before approving the park’s potential lease to ETZ Ltd in September 2023. In August 2024, Lord Douglas Fairley refused the petition, ruling that Aberdeen City Council’s September 2023 resolution did “no more than give express authority” for officers to investigate potential development options and therefore did not trigger equality assessment requirements at that stage. ETZ Ltd welcomed the judgment, committing to developing “less than a third of the park overall” and promising “significant improvements” to remaining green spaces through its Community & Coast programme.
However, the development continues to face obstacles. Aberdeen City Council’s planning committee approved the ETZ proposals in November 2024, but the Scottish Environment Protection Agency lodged a formal objection citing flooding concerns, escalating the decision to Scottish Ministers. SEPA’s objection centres on ETZ Ltd’s plan to realign the East Tullos Burn to accommodate development, with photographic evidence from residents showing extensive flooding beyond predicted one-in-200-year flood extent maps following heavy rainfall.
The Scottish Government announced before Christmas 2024 that it would not call-in the planning decision despite SEPA’s objection and significant local opposition. Scottish Green MSP Maggie Chapman, who has championed the community campaign, challenged First Minister John Swinney in January 2025, stating: “Torry has already borne the brunt of unjust energy transition, losing Old Torry to oil & gas infrastructure. The incinerator and sewerage works loom over the community. It has a life expectancy more than 10 years lower than the rest of the city”.
David Parks, a protesting resident, argued that wealthier parts of Aberdeen would not have been treated similarly: “You wouldn’t see this in Old Aberdeen and Rosemount. [Torry] is just kind of the dumping ground for all these projects that you wouldn’t get off with anywhere else”. Industrial developments have encroached on the former fishing village for decades, with residents now surrounded by an industrial harbour, roads, railway infrastructure, a waste-to-energy incinerator, sewage treatment plant and covered landfill.
Community members have questioned the necessity of incorporating greenfield sites into the ETZ when substantial brownfield industrial land exists in nearby East Tullos and Altens industrial estates, much of it owned by Aberdeen City Council’s Common Good Fund and already zoned for industrial use.
Strategic Location at Heart of ScotWind Opportunity
Despite the controversy, the Energy Transition Zone occupies a strategically significant position within striking distance of Scotland’s offshore wind pipeline. Approximately 75 percent of the 28 gigawatts of capacity awarded through the ScotWind leasing round lies within 100 nautical miles of Aberdeen, creating substantial opportunities for local manufacturing, operations and maintenance activities.
Maggie McGinlay, chief executive of ETZ Ltd, welcomed the funding announcement, stating: “To ensure North East Scotland remains a thriving hub of energy excellence, we must have government and industry working in partnership to support our world-class supply chain who will lead the delivery of the vast pipeline of energy transition projects, particularly offshore wind, on our doorstep”.
The investment builds on previous government support totalling £9.7 million, which funded the Innovation Campus and Energy Transition Skills Hub. The Skills Hub, which opened in summer 2025, features state-of-the-art welding facilities, advanced manufacturing zones and digital training suites designed to support 1,000 people into energy transition employment within its first five years.
Anchoring Supply Chain Capabilities
ETZ Ltd’s masterplan encompasses approximately 250 hectares of developable land organised into five specialist campuses covering offshore wind, hydrogen, innovation, skills development and a marine gateway directly connected to harbour facilities. The organisation projects the zone will directly support 2,500 jobs by 2030, with an additional 10,000 energy transition-related positions created across the wider North East Scotland region, generating approximately £400 million in gross value added.
The region’s ambitions received a significant boost in October when industrialist Sir Ian Wood announced a £40 million donation from The Wood Foundation to support ETZ Ltd and Opportunity North East, matched by commitments from both the Scottish National Party and Scottish Labour to provide equivalent public funding following the May 2026 Holyrood elections. This brings Sir Ian’s total personal investment in the two organisations to £104 million.
The £17.3 million investment will be delivered alongside ongoing construction of the £9 million ETZ EnergyWorks facility, which received £5.5 million in UK Government funding, £2 million from Scottish Enterprise and £1.25 million from bp. Expected to become operational in autumn 2025, the 3,000 square metre premises will provide manufacturing and collaboration space for companies developing offshore wind, hydrogen and battery storage technologies.
