Floating offshore wind deal with HD Hyundai Heavy Industries could be an important moment – Scotsman comment

Scotland must capitalise on the huge opportunities to build a globally significant renewable energy industry

The signing of a memorandum of understanding between HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and two Scottish enterprise agencies, which commits the parties to pursue opportunities for floating offshore wind projects, may sound rather dull. However, given the firm is the world’s largest shipbuilding company and a major manufacturer of floating substructures, and Scotland is blessed with an abundance of wind energy, it could be a partnership with a very big future.

Deputy First Minister Shona Robison, who witnessed the signing, described the agreement as a “vote of confidence in Scotland and our offshore wind industry”. If only our elected leaders would spend more time on this sort of thing and less on independence papers and culture-war issues, Scotland’s renewable energy sector might be more than a faint shadow of the globally significant industry of our dreams, described by politicians from Alex Salmond to Boris Johnson as “the Saudi Arabia of wind”.

Much of Scotland’s future economic prosperity is riding on this crucial transition period. If we fail to capitalise on the huge opportunities of today, we will regret it tomorrow.

Get our weekly opinion newsletter for expert analysis from The Scotsman’s team of columnists