A SCOTTISH Government agency has taken legal action to block the removal of plant and equipment from Britain’s only UK facility for manufacturing onshore and offshore wind towers amidst fears it has been ‘wound down’.
Concerns have been raised about the position of the South Korean-owned CS Wind Machrihanish factory, which the Herald can reveal has received nearly £3m in taxpayer-funded grants from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).
HIE have taken the action to ensure that the plant is capable of carrying out work.
CS Wind used to have 134 staff but workers say it is now being overseen by just six people – as scores have lost their jobs – and union leaders are concerned it is being ‘wound down’.
The Scottish Government’s economic and community development agency Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), which has taken the action, offloaded a 19% stake in Argyll-based firm Wind Towers (Scotland) that owned the factory, to CS Wind which took over operations in April, 2016.
HIE and Scottish energy firm SSE, which sold its entire 81% stake in WTS said at the time that CS Wind planned to invest up to £14m in Scotland which would safeguard 130 skilled jobs and create up to 70 new jobs in rural Argyll.
HIE papers seen by the Herald reveal that the taxpayer-funded agency gave CS Wind nearly £3m most of which was to create the UK’s first offshore wind tower factory
The agency says conditions attached to the funding require the company to maintain business operations at the plant linked to the purposes for which the funding was awarded. That obligation period runs till March, next year.
An email to energy minister Paul Wheelhouse, seen by the Herald says that an interim interdict was granted at the end of December and served by sheriffs’ officers.
The minister has been kept informed by HIE over the legal actions to stop any equipment being removed.
Another interim interdict was agreed in early February by Court of Session judge Lord Ericht.
That stops CS Wind’s officers, employees and agents from removing plant or equipment from the factory out of the Highlands and Islands are of operation. It was amended to allow the company to deliver items manufactured to satisfy customer orders.
An HIE spokesman said: “We are in regular contact with CS Wind UK, with industry partners and with Scottish and UK governments with a view to maintaining operations at the plant.
“CS Wind has stated that it is working to secure further orders. We have taken formal measures to protect the assets on site to make sure the plant retains its capacity to meet the requirements of any new orders secured.
“We are also exploring the potential for further diversification of the plant that could help sustain its operations and create further employment.”
HIE did not respond to questions about whether anything was written into conditions of the grants that allows the agency to claim the money back if the company stopped operating.
Pat Rafferty, Unite Scottish secretary was shocked by developments, saying: “The situation at CS Wind is perilous due to the actions of the factory’s Korean owners.
“The fact that an injunction has been taken out against the company is unheard of and highlights the major concerns which governmental bodies hold regarding the intentions of CS Wind.
“The factory should be one of the crown jewels in Scotland’s renewables industry as it manufactures onshore and offshore wind turbines but it has been lying idle for months now.
“It’s time the owners of CS Wind moved on to other shores in order to allow alternative ownership options to come forward including forms of public ownership so that we can work towards guaranteeing the factory a successful future.”
Nobody at CS Wind in the UK or at its South Korea head office were returning calls or emails from the Herald over a period of over a week. An official email address for the Highlands factory no longer accepts messages and all calls consistently go to answerphone.
The CS Wind development comes as concerns were raised that Scotland’s forecast of a jobs bonanza from the offshore wind farm revolution are “a pipe dream” as it emerged it has created just 6% of the 28,000 direct jobs predicted by this year.
And concerns remain over Scotland losing out on multi-million pound contracts for Scotland ‘s wind farm revolution – after a ministerial summit convened to end the “scandal” of Scots green jobs going abroad promised action.
In December, the First Minister was urged to intervene amid concerns Scotland is missing out on a wind farm jobs boom, as CS Wind lost out on a key contract to deliver towers for the 18-turbine Beinn an Tuirc wind farm on the Kintyre peninsula.
Unite believe CS Wind lost the Beinn an Tuirc contract due to the uncertainty surrounding the factory.
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