Global shipbuilding giant Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) has announced plans which could see it invest up to £100million in manufacturing wind turbines in Scotland.
The Korean conglomerate, responsible for many of the world’s drillships, announced at an offshore wind conference in Aberdeen today that it had picked Fife Energy Park in Methill to build a test centre for its seven megawatt wind turbine – its first offshore wind base in Europe.
It also signed a multimillion pound deal with Clyde Blowers subsidiary David Brown Gear Systems, based in East Kilbride, for the supply of gearboxes for its next generation offshore wind turbine.
If successful, the test centre could lead to a SHI manufacturing plant in the area, taking its potential total investment up to £100million.
Announcing the move, First Minister Alex Salmond said it was another big endorsement for Scotland, and that the north east and Aberdeen were well-positioned to benefit from the emerging wind farm industry – predicted to create 28,000 jobs by 2020.
“This is fantastic news for Methill, Fife and Scotland,” he said. “We have to develop the industry using the great human expertise and capital required, across the whole of Scotland.
“The north-east, Aberdeen and Peterhead, have a great advantage with an established service industry in oil and gas.
“I believe we will look back on this generation and see Scottish innovation at its finest and it is up to companies in the north-east to grasp that opportunity.”
He said the likes of Wood Group PSN and Technip were already working in the sector.
Mr Salmond was speaking on the first day of the offshore wind and supply chain conference and exhibition at Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre.
More than 600 industry professionals have been at the event, which continues today.
Lena Wilson, chief executive of Scottish Enterprise, told the conference that 2012 was a critical year for the industry to grow the supply chain, help reduce costs, develop larger and more efficient turbines and update grid infrastructure.
“It is our biggest economic opportunity in a generation and a chance to re-engineer Scotland,” she said.
“However, we have still a long way to go to fully realise the offshore wind opportunity.”
She said it was estimated there would be 40,000 jobs in renewables by 2020, with about 28,000 of those in wind. By that time there would have been about £30billion investment.
Some 750 companies had been identified that could gain a chunk of the supply chain in renewables, including oil and gas firms but also aerospace and ship building. Scottish Enterprise was already working with about 600 of them, she said.
Mr Salmond said Scotland had the right assets to become Europe’s research and development base for offshore renewables, with a vast coastline with the capacity to create 200GW of power – enough to power a country the size of Germany “three of four times over” – and a strong supply chain and knowledge of the sea.
His aim was for Scotland to produce 10GW by 2020 and then 50GW by 2050, exporting the capacity above the 6GW per day needs of Scotland.
On the independence debate, he said Norway had managed to amass a £300billion investment fund through oil and gas revenues – a fund which would outlast the country’s oil and gas reserves.
A similar scheme would be a “key proposal” the Scottish government would take forward as part of its independence plans.
He said the UK Treasury had already soaked up £300billion – and that with the North Sea only half way through its life.
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