Contribution to Just Transition
EMEC has a triple bottom line: people, planet, prosperity, which underpins everything we do, our mission, business model, and strategy. Through our work, we are actively addressing the following outcomes as identified by the Scottish Government Just Transition team:
- Citizens, communities, and place: Part of EMEC’s remit is to ensure the creation of good, skilled jobs in Orkney.
- Jobs, skills, and education: EMEC’s R&D in marine energy is contributing to the building of a local supply chain.
- Fair distribution of costs and benefits: PhD student Lara Santos has been investigating energy justice for communities, exploring these ideas.
- Business and economy: Marine energy is an emerging sector with green growth potential. In Scotland alone, marine energy could add £37bn GVA by 2050, creating 62,400 jobs. Around half of these jobs will be in device construction, with 15,000 high-value jobs located in coastal communities.[2]
- Decarbonisation and efficiencies: EMEC’s R&D focuses on supporting emerging clean technologies that will help transition to a clean energy future. The Islands Centre for Net Zero project focusses on supporting decarbonisation pathways for Scotland’s islands Orkney, Shetland and the Outer Hebrides
Contribution to regional heritage
In Orkney, we have a rich heritage of harnessing the sea for various purposes, whether it be the fishing industry and herring, or transatlantic connections through the Hudson’s Bay Company. The islands also have a long history in energy, with the first grid connected wind turbine being tested at Costa Head in the 1950s[3]. Harnessing the sea for power from big waves and strong tides by deploying marine energy devices is another way of utilising the sea and adding to our heritage and forward-thinking attitude towards energy. EMEC and Orkney as an energy community have been the subject of several museum exhibitions, including “Energy Revolution: The Adani Green Energy Gallery” in the Science Museum in London[4], and more recently at a local level in the Stromness Museum’s 2025 exhibition, “Powered By People: Orkney’s Renewables Energy Story”.[5].
Benefits to the local area
An economic impact assessment commissioned in 2023 showed that, as a result of EMEC’s operations over the last two decades, £370 million GVA has been generated into the UK economy. Orkney alone has seen £130 million in GVA and the creation of 224 jobs. [6]
EMEC’s activity has fostered a cluster of activity in Orkney that is enabling other companies to develop and thrive, with the local marine renewables supply chain now exporting services and knowledge across the UK and around the world.
Harnessing the abundant resources available in the Highlands and Islands, EMEC is supporting the transition to a clean energy future and creating economic benefits in peripheral coastal communities.
Lessons learned
Fundamentally EMEC generates learning around our mission – to reduce the time, cost and risk of bringing new low carbon technologies to market through real-sea testing and demonstration. That includes:
- Installability, survivability, operability, reliability, maintainability, scale-ability of new clean energy technologies all whilst aiming to reduce cost of energy (or better appreciate added value, such as the reliability of marine energy contributing to a future energy mixed based on intermittent sources of renewable power)
- EMEC has taken that further through integrating wave and tidal energy into the grid/future energy systems incorporating green hydrogen production and battery storage
- EMEC’s EIA demonstrates the economic benefits observed in Orkney.
- As founders of the International WaTERS network EMEC have shared challenges and opportunities for replicating EMEC’s model internationally with other water and tidal energy test centres.
A report which EMEC produced last year in collaboration with Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult, commissioned by Crown Estate Scotland[7] highlighted:
Tidal energy has an important role to play in delivering Scotland’s net zero ambitions, particularly in terms of energy security and resilience. The UK Marine Energy Council is lobbying UK Government to set a 1 GW by 2035 target for tidal energy, within which the recommended ambitions for Scottish Waters are:
- 200 MW by 2030 and
- 700 MW by 2035
Due to the location of the tidal energy resource in Scotland, there is an opportunity to create local energy systems and support energy independence for remote or islanded communities. With evidence from the first projects already operating, this sector is directly supporting economic development in coastal communities across Scotland.
Replication and scaling
EMEC collaborates with an international network of wave and tidal test sites from across the world. We lead the International WaTERS forum[8], which organises a workshop every year to discuss challenges and opportunities in the sector.
EMEC is looking to expand its Fall of Warness test site in response to the tidal developers’ need to jump from single device testing to multi-device testing. This illustrates the progress being made in the sector and the continued need for R&D.
Working conditions and fair work practices
Featured organisations and initiatives were asked to supply the following information regarding working conditions:
- Alignment with Scottish Government Fair Work First criteria
- If they have gone beyond Fair Work First by incorporating broader values on fair work
- For larger organisations, whether a union recognition agreement is in place.
This did not apply to co-operatives structures and membership-based initiatives, though all projects and initiatives were given room to provide any detail on fair work practices deemed relevant.
The following information was provided:
EMEC is a Fair Work First employer as well as a real living wage employer.
People, Planet and Prosperity are the 3 P’s that underly EMEC strategic plan. We are therefore committed to go beyond FWF in the following ways:
- Enhanced Worker Voice and Participation
- Staff forum in place.
- Employees involved in strategic planning.
- Progressive Pay and Benefits
- Voluntary reporting of gender pay gap.
- Career progression through tailored Personal Development Plans for all staff.
- Comprehensive benefits including private counselling, EAP, salary sacrifice schemes, and enhanced parental leave.
- Flexible working from day one.
- Inclusive and Equitable Workplaces
- Environmental and Community Impact
- Sustainability strategy and carbon reduction plan in place.
- Paid volunteering time and outreach to schools and careers fairs.
