GLASGOW-BASED civil-engineering contractor George Leslie has won the £3million contract to carry out a major quayside upgrade at the former offshore fabrication yard at Methil – now Energy Park Fife. The upgrade is part of a wider £13million investment announced last year in a bid to assure a role for Scotland in renewables-related manufacturing.
Linda McPherson, regional director at Scottish Enterprise, said in a statement: “Upgrading the quayside at Energy Park Fife is critical in achieving this and will ensure the companies already based there have access to a high-quality and competitive business environment to help them grow, as well as making the park attractive to new inward investors to Scotland.”
With deepwater load-out facilities inherited from the days when Methil was a major offshore fabrication facility for the North Sea, and being in close proximity to the Scottish Territorial Water and UK Round Three wind projects, the 134-acre energy park is, in fact, well located to play an anchor role in establishing the huge windfarms now gestating.
The energy park forms an integral part of Scotland’s National Renewable Infrastructure Plan, published in February this year and which failed to take proper account of Aberdeen’s role. Fabrication company BiFab is already demonstrating the potential of the Fife site by series manufacturing mini-jackets for the North Irish Sea Ormonde wind/natural gas development, plus partial revival of oil&gas-related manufacturing.
Further significant investment in BiFab’s energy-park facilities is in the pipeline.
Energy Park Fife is a partnership between Scottish Enterprise and Fife Council.