A European offshore wind company will locate its UK turbine manufacturing base in Scotland.
About 750 jobs could be created under the plan for the Edinburgh area by French firm Areva.
Chief executive Luc Oursel said: “Scotland is known to be a pioneer in renewables and its commitment to offshore wind in particular was a key part of our decision to locate our future UK manufacturing base there.
“This new facility is part of Areva’s strategy to establish a manufacturing footprint that will cover the European market.”
The announcement was made following an agreement with Scottish Enterprise at a meeting in Paris.
First Minister Alex Salmond, who was at the meeting, said: “Scotland shares Areva’s vision of a cleaner tomorrow. Today’s announcement provides a further boost to Scotland’s position as one of Europe’s key locations for offshore wind and takes us another significant step further in achieving our ambitious carbon reduction target.”
The agreement outlines an intention to locate the company’s nacelle, or turbine, operation and blade manufacturing facilities, in the east of Scotland.
The jobs could be created in Scotland from manufacturing and the supporting supply chain, Areva said.
A spokeswoman for Scottish Enterprise said: “Areva opened its UK wind headquarters in Edinburgh earlier this year, and is initially interested in exploring locations for its manufacturing operations in the nearby Forth Estuary region.
“Scottish Enterprise will be working with the company to identify suitable locations and will pursue other sites further afield if necessary.”
Areva describes itself as one of the leading offshore wind suppliers in Europe. In the UK, it is also involved in nuclear decommissioning.
Prime Minister David Cameron said the announcement was “brilliant for Scotland”.
He said: “I am determined that Britain competes and thrives in the global race and this shows that the UK remains an attractive place for foreign investment.
“Growth of the renewable energy sector isn’t just good for our environment, it’s good for our economy too and, with more renewable energy deployed under three years of this coalition government than under 13 years of the previous government, the UK is now the world’s biggest offshore wind market.”
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