Dorset, as part of the Great South West, is a new UK destination for international investment in clean energy. Opportunities include a deep-water offshore wind hub to service the offshore renewable sectors, including deep fixed, FLOW, and floating solar, as well as the potential to host complementary nationally significant green infrastructure projects such as Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), carbon dioxide (CO2) capture and storage (CCS), and clean green hydrogen. Related opportunities include grid improvements, desalination, and data.

Stantec is working with Dorset Council, Real Growth Ltd, and regional partners to facilitate a coherent strategy for maximizing this opportunity and delivering a clean energy cluster in the region with wider links to Hinkley Point C and FLOW in the Celtic Sea. Harnessing its unique geography and geology and leveraging the existing deep-water port at Portland, Dorset has a unique proposition with ambition and commitment to align with the delivery of both Invest 2035 and accelerating delivery of Net Zero by 2047 and 95 percent renewable energy by 2050.

The prospective clean energy investment opportunities in Portland would accelerate the production of renewable energy and industrial decarbonization through CCS and clean green hydrogen. With excellent connectivity to the English Channel, projected offshore wind projects, UK industrial emitters, as well as European markets, the pan-Dorset area is well-positioned to host the rapid deployment of projects between 2024 and 2030. These projects would be sensitively designed and implemented as progressive responses to sustainable development goals to strengthen economic security, resilience, and improve community wellbeing.