Ther is optimism in Fife ahead of a major government announcement that is expected to see a surge in the number of Britain”s offshore wind turbines.
It is thought energy minister Chris Huhne will today address parliament and call for a substantial rise in the number and scale of offshore wind farms in British waters.
With fears having been expressed over the nation’s dependency on energy imports, the announcement could see the number of offshore turbines soar from its current total of 2909.
There are hopes that should Mr Huhne make the address as expected, Fife could be one of the places set to benefit, having placed itself at the heart of the renewable energy industry.
Although energy matters are a devolved matter, Tricia Marwick, MSP for Central Fife, welcomed the planned speech, saying, “I would certainly welcome any announcement from the UK government in getting the country away from nuclear power as well as investing in the renewables sector.
“We have the |technology and we have the companies and I would welcome this commitment from Westminster towards renewables.”
The Fife Energy Park in Methil is one such area that could benefit from any proposals, along with Burntisland Fabrications, a world-leader in deep water structures for renewable power.
Should the government wish to press ahead with more offshore turbines then the likelihood of new jobs and investment in Fife would seem to be high.
That is certainly the belief of Tony Martin, chairman of the region’s enterprise, environment and transportation committee.
He said, “The really big prize is maintenance contracts, for these could guarantee around 25 to 30 years of work.
“We need to keep our eye on the ball but we are in a strong geographical location.”
Mr Huhne this week stated his belief that offshore wind power could play a crucial part in meeting Britain’s energy needs.
In an interview he said, “We have a tremendous natural resource in the Dogger Bank, which is an enormous shallow area of the North Sea, the same size as Wales.
“It’s beautifully windy so it does actually produce a lot of electricity that is a really important natural resource for us.”