Wind farms to create 20,000 Scottish jobs, says Alex Salmond

Published on Friday 8 January 2010 22:11

THE offshore renewables industry will create 20,000 jobs in Scotland within just ten years, it was claimed yesterday, as plans for two massive wind farms off the east coast were given the green light.

First Minister Alex Salmond spelt out his view of the scale of the prize for Scotland from offshore renewables, which he said had as much potential as the emerging North Sea oil and gas sector in the early 1970s.

His words came as the government confirmed rights had been granted to companies to build two enormous wind farms in the seas off Scotland's east coast.

About 850 turbines will be built off Fife in the Firth of Forth, and in the Moray Firth off the north-east coast, under the plans.

Announcing the winning bidders yesterday, Mr Salmond said there was "no greater opportunity for our country" than offshore renewables.

"This is the greatest industrial opportunity since the early 1970s and the development of oil and gas," he said.

He said he believed the 1,000 existing Scottish jobs in offshore renewables would multiply 20 fold to 20,000 by 2020.

The two huge offshore wind farms, if built, would have the combined capacity of 4.8 gigawatts (GW) – enough to power more than two million houses – roughly every home in Scotland.

When combined with existing plans for 6.4GW of offshore wind farms at ten other sites around Scotland, announced last year, there would be more than 11GW capacity.

At peak output, they are expected to operate at more than 40 per cent efficiency, meaning on a windy day they could provide close to enough electricity to entirely power the country – between 5GW and 6GW on an average day.

The largest of the two wind farms given the green light yesterday will be built in the Firth of Forth, in a project being taken forward by a consortium of power giant Scottish and Southern Energy and American firm Fluor.

This wind farm alone would be expected to create up to 700 permanent jobs directly linked to building and maintenance and thousands more in supply chain positions, according to SSE.

About 600 turbines would be installed, with the wind farm stretching from 16 miles off the coast to 50 miles out to sea.

The giant machines, towering up to 200 metres above the waves, are expected to be only just visible from shore.

In the Moray Firth a consortium of Portuguese firm EDP Renovveis and Aberdeenshire company SeaEnergy Renewables has been granted rights to press ahead with plans to build another wind farm of about 250 turbines, stretching out from 16 miles off the north-east coast

, in an area known as the Smith Bank.

Scottish Renewables, which represents green energy companies, agrees offshore wind farm developments in Scotland's seas could create 20,000 jobs.

Scottish Renewables wind policy manager Jenny Hogan said: "The challenge now is to ensure that Scottish-based companies capture as much of this investment as possible."

Critics believe many of the jobs will be generated overseas rather than at home. Scotland missed out in the onshore wind turbines manufacturing sector, with all turbines installed in this country imported from abroad.

However, Alan MacAskill, business development director at SeaEnergy, told The Scotsman he was convinced the turbine manufacturing industry would become established in Scotland.

"Manufacturing will follow the big demand," he said. "There will be indigenous wind farm manufacturing happening here."

Ian Marchant, chief executive of SSE, said he was aware of at least seven companies in the UK interested in building turbines, some of which are Scottish firms.

Licences were also granted yesterday for wind farms in a further seven sites south of the border, in a major expansion of offshore wind expected to bring in 100 billion investment.

If all are successful, about 6,400 new giant turbines will be built around the British coast, with a combined installed capacity of 32GW – enough to provide a quarter of the UK's electricity needs.

All the successful companies have been granted Zone Development Agreements by the Crown Estate, which has responsibility for the seabed around the UK.

Each will still have to gain planning permission, and the earliest turbines are expected to be installed at the Scottish sites is 2015. They are expected to be complete by 2020.

The growth in wind power will help Scotland meet its targets of providing 50 per cent of electricity from renewable sources by 2020.

THE MONEY MEN

EACH of the wind farms planned for the seas off Scotland's east coast is being taken forward by one Scottish company, in partnership with a firm from overseas.

The consortium behind the planned Firth of Forth wind farm is a joint venture made up equally by power giant Scottish & Southern Energy, along with US firm Fluor, which is based in Texas.

SSE is behind some of the biggest onshore wind farms in Scotland, and also has interest in other forms of power including nuclear.

Engineering and construction firm Fluor is involved in a wide range of industries.

The consortium behind the Moray Firth venture has Portuguese giant EDP Renovaveis as the major player, with Aberdeenshire firm SeaEnergy Renewables having a 25 per cent stake.

SeaEnergy Renewables sprung up from the oil and gas sector, deciding to transfer expertise to focus on green energy.