Offshore wind farm scholarships go to five more leavers from far north
Five more school leavers from Caithness and north Sutherland have been awarded scholarships from the Pentland Floating Offshore Wind Farm.
The scholarships, administered through the charity Foundation Scotland, will support further studies in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects.
This is the third year of the Pentland Floating Offshore Wind Education and Training Fund, which is providing a total of £16,000 to local students over four years.
This year, one student from Farr High School and four from Thurso High are the beneficiaries of the award. It will help their move to university, including buying equipment to support their learning or the costs of relocating ahead of the academic year.
The six-turbine wind farm is being planned by Highland Wind Limited at a site some 7.5km offshore from Dounreay.
Eilidh Coll, community funds adviser at Foundation Scotland, said: “As the bursary progresses, the quality of applications only seems to grow. All the candidates demonstrate strong links to their communities through part-time jobs, volunteering or helping coaching younger students.
“We are excited to support them on their academic journey and grateful to Highland Wind Limited for establishing this scholarship.”
Pentland project director Richard Copeland said: “We are delighted to continue our support for the next generation as they pursue their further and higher education studies in STEM subjects. There are diverse and rewarding career opportunities for young people with an interest in these areas, and encouraging those keen to explore this path also ensures future skills requirements are met – so it’s win-win.
“We hope our contribution helps make the transition into university life easier. Supporting students in the discovery stage of their career is a huge privilege and I wish all the recipients the best of luck as they begin the next phase of their journey.”
The five leavers benefiting this year are Kaigha van Voornveld (Farr High School), Keira Bain, Matthew Laird, Edward Warner and Kieran Gunn (all Thurso High School).
Kaigha will attend University of Abertay to study for a degree in mental health nursing. She said: “I am very grateful to have been selected for this fund and know that it will be a huge help in ensuring I am able to follow my studies effectively at university.”
Keira said: “Receiving the Pentland Floating Offshore Wind Education and Training Fund is assisting me to purchase equipment to support my degree in medicine at the University of Edinburgh. It is also assisting me with the high costs involved in living in a city with the move from the rural community of Caithness.”
Edward said: “This will help me buy equipment and books for my course at the University of Glasgow.”
Earlier this year the wind farm developers were given the go-ahead to reduce the number of turbines from seven to six. It was reported that the change could be made while maintaining the wind farm’s 100MW capacity.
The development will feature Stiesdal Offshore’s TetraSub floating structure technology. A landfall site has been identified at Dounreay.
Highland Wind Limited is majority owned by flagship funds managed by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), with Hexicon AB as a minority shareholder. Eurus Energy UK Ltd is also a part-owner of the project.
Project development activities are being led by CIP’s development partner, Copenhagen Offshore Partners.
