The young boy cut a vulnerable figure as he marched amidst hundreds of sturdy manufacturing workers in Edinburgh, clutching a sign reading ‘Save Daddy’s Work’.
He may have captured the sympathy of onlookers in the Scottish capital, but his efforts were in vain. The company they were trying to save, Fife-based Burntisland Fabrications, collapsed a few years later in December 2020. Work it was hoping to get for offshore wind farms was awarded to firms abroad.
Its demise fuelled mounting anger that the economic rewards from the UK’s rapid growth in offshore wind farms were not being felt domestically, as jobs and cash instead went abroad, including to China and the UAE.
Efforts since made to try and reverse that situation and protect UK jobs now face a challenge from abroad. The European Commission is examining whether Britain is unfairly prioritising local firms and, reported the Sun, is on the brink of filing a challenge with the World Trade Organisation.
That could test the balance ministers appear to be trying to strike: pushing wind farm developers towards hiring local companies and talking up their prospects, yet not putting legal requirements in place that would risk falling foul of fair trade rules.
It comes amid mounting concern about how certain workers will fare in the shift towards greener energy. In particular, whether thousands of workers in the oil and gas industry will find a new home in the growing offshore wind, hydrogen and carbon capture sectors as the UK shifts away from fossil fuels.
Unions are watching closely. “If the UK doesn’t secure the tens of thousands of green manufacturing jobs needed to develop the next generation of offshore wind, then it won’t be the fault of the EU, it will be the fault of the UK Government,” says Gary Smith, general secretary of the GMB Union.
“Ministers know this, so rather than bleating about what competitors may or may not do, they need to get our own house in order so we can start onshoring the jobs from our renewables sector that have been offshored to the rest of the world over the last decade.
“Bluntly, the credibility of the government’s ‘levelling-up’ and ‘green industrial revolution’ agendas depend on this.”
Lured by the North Sea’s high wind speeds and a generous subsidy regime, international wind farm developers have helped turn the UK into one of the world’s largest offshore wind markets.
The country had the most installed capacity globally until this year, when it was overtaken by China. Turbines in UK waters now provide about 10pc of domestic electricity, compared to 0.8pc in 2010.
Despite a recent period of low wind highlighting the challenges of relying on the intermittent source, capacity is set to grow. The Government aims to quadruple offshore wind capacity by 2030, part of its race to cut carbon emissions to net zero by 2050. And it seems to be taking off: Scotland’s latest seabed leasing round exceeded expectations with international developers queuing up for rights to build 17 new projects.
There have also been moves to strengthen developers’ spending with UK companies. In 2020, industry set a target of 60pc UK content in domestic projects by 2030, up from an existing 50pc target, as part of a sector deal with the Government.
Companies are also asked to give details of their supply chain plans in a questionnaire before being able to bid for Government support in the form of a guarantee on the price they are paid for electricity, known as a Contract for Difference (CfD).
In July 2021, the Government announced reforms allowing it to strip companies of CfDs on failure to meet the commitments they have put forward. “Upgrades to the scheme will help the offshore wind industry deliver on its commitment to ensure that 60pc of the manufacturing for wind farm projects should be based in the UK,” it said at the time.
However, it is understood there is no legal requirement to use UK contractors. Crown Estate Scotland asked similar questions ahead of its recent successful seabed licencing round, but said in 2020 the information would not “form part of any scoring relating to selection of winning applications.”
The UK Government’s CfD supply chain questionnaire is believed to be at the heart of a possible challenge from the European Commission. Ministers are understood to believe the rules comply with all legal obligations, and have a robust defence case.
A Government spokesman said it had engaged with the EU over its concerns, adding: “We wait to see what action they may take, but would contest any challenge the EU brought against the UK on this matter.
“CfD auctions are a vital part of our efforts to drive down the cost of renewable energy. The application process does not include a requirement for developers to use UK content, as alleged by the EU.” It is not expecting any disruption to its next CfD round.
As an EU challenge looms, facts on the ground are changing fasts. A record more than £1bn was invested in UK factories serving the offshore wind sector over the past year, according to trade body RenewableUK. South Korea’s SeAH Wind, Smulders Projects UK – part of France’s Eiffage – and US giant GE Renewable Energy, have announced new or upgraded factories in the north-east of England. The sector employs 26,000 directly and indirectly, with forecasts this will reach 70,000 by 2026.
“Our world-leading offshore wind market is providing huge opportunities for firms across the UK and the EU, boosting their ability to compete in an increasingly global market,” says Dan McGrail, chief executive of trade body RenewableUK.
“As hard-pressed bill payers across Europe are being hit by rocketing international gas prices, now is the time to focus on collaborating to accelerate the global transition to low-cost clean energy”.
A European Commission spokesperson said: “The Commission’s assessment of the compliance of the United Kingdom renewable energy support scheme with the UK international obligations is still on-going.”
Depending on what they find, those who remember the march for Burntisland in Fife may discover history ends up repeating itself. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/…/brussels-sets-sights…/

SAS Volunteer

We publish content from 3rd party sources for educational purposes. We operate as a not-for-profit and do not make any revenue from the website. If you have content published on this site that you feel infringes your copyright please contact: webmaster@scotlandagainstspin.org to have the appropriate credit provided or the offending article removed.

0 Comments

Leave a Reply

Avatar placeholder

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *