by David McPhee
Westminster and the Scottish Government are to lead a summit into the
awarding of contracts to the offshore wind supply chain as foreign firms
continue to cash in on UK work.
The forum, due to be held in Edinburgh on May 2, will include UK trade
unions, offshore wind developers and supply chain firms.
Scottish finance secretary Derek Mackay will co-host the summit with UK
energy minister Claire Perry.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon vowed to convene a summit in March after
troubled Scottish firm Burntisland Fabrication (BiFab) was overlooked in
favour of two foreign rivals for a multi-million contract for a giant
100-turbine Moray Firth wind development.
In December 2018, it was announced that Dubai-headquartered Lamprell had
won the £160 million deal to construct 45 jackets for the project, which is
being built under a partnership between Spanish-owned EDP Renewables and
France’s Engie.
A separate deal for a further 55 jackets, was awarded to Belgian company
Smulders.
Mr Mackay said: “This summit will allow us to talk directly with the key
developers and suppliers to establish what more we can do to help.
“The Scottish Government will be examining the consent process to ensure we
use the powers at our disposal to keep work on these shores.
“And I hope to hear more from the developers and suppliers on what they
plan to do to help grow our renewables economy.”
Those invited to the summit include Vattenfall, EDP Renewables, Deme
Offshore (formerly GeoSea), Scottish Power Renewables, Equinor, Red Rock
Power and Seaway Heavy Lifting.
GMB and Unite workers unions will also be at the meeting.
A spokesman for GMB Union claimed the Scottish Parliament had “indulged
itself far too long in empty promises about a green jobs revolution” while
billion pound investments were commanded by European and Middle East firms.
He added: “Let’s be clear that we’ve been brought to this point by failure.
“BiFab’s yards lie empty, we need to sharpen our elbows in the fight for
renewables manufacturing jobs.
“That needs to start at this summit.”
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