A Belgian-based wind-energy company has thrown the troubled Scottish
offshore engineering yard BiFab a potential lifebelt.
But it may prove useless because of the withdrawal of renewable energy
subsidies in the Brit-Govt’s ‘Rudd Reset’ – named after the then British
energy minister – two years ago.
Methil-based BiFab is running down its workforce and up to 1,000
supply-chain jobs at its yards in Fife and the Western Isles as it nears
completion of an order to build sea-bed piers for a new wind farm in the
Moray Firth.
Now 2B Energy has sent a letter of intent to BiFab naming as preferred
supplier for its contract to build a new wind farm in the Forth estuary.
Scott Harper, commercial director at 2B Energy, said: “We’ve made the
commitment to BiFab to do the demonstration turbines.
“Our procurement is pretty far advanced and we could press forward pretty
quickly with contract orders – that would be two structures with the hope
of looking at consent extension, which would be up to eight or nine turbines.”
But he said the future of the project is in jeopardy because a subsidy
package offered by the Brit-Govt requires the turbines to be generating
electricity by the end of September this year.
“Until we can find an alternative to the subsidy then the demonstration
project won’t be able to go ahead,” he added.
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