Dundee could miss out on hundreds of jobs after a leading offshore wind energy firm warned it could abandon plans to open a factory in the city.
Although Aberdeen firm SeaEnergy identified Dundee as the ideal site for a factory to make offshore wind turbine jackets the large structures which hold deep water turbines upright it could walk away from the city because not enough support is being given to foster the renewable energy sector in Dundee.
Executive director Steve Remp has said the company is already having to scout alternative locations.
Although Spanish firm Gamesa has said it wants to create a manufacturing and maintenance base in Dundee, Mr Remp’s plan is the first firm indication of the type of jobs which could be created as a result of investment in offshore wind.
This week he said a decision must be made soon on where money from the £70m National Renewables Infrastructure Fund should be allocated to encourage investment in the offshore wind industry in Scotland.
He called for Dundee to be named the preferred site to become the renewable energy capital of Scotland and said it should receive the bulk of the money. Now, he has upped the stakes even further by warning of a direct threat to jobs in Dundee unless greater support is given.
Mr Remp, who founded oil company Ramco in Aberdeen in the early 1970s, said: ”Wind has its detractors but, whether you like it or not, it is coming. It will get cheaper and it will grow and I think the Scottish Government, Alex Salmond and Scottish Enterprise know it.
”Mr Salmond has been supportive but I want the bar set higher. We have been trying to get a commitment on usage of port facilities and it has been a struggle getting people to make decisions.
”We are being courted by a city in England and they are as well placed as Dundee. We need some partnership between government and people like ourselves.”FactoryMr Remp wants to open a factory in Dundee that would employ several hundred people and make 20 to 30 turbine jackets each year.
”There will be something like 9,000 turbines in British waters and 60% of them will be in deep sea. I’m not saying we will capture all of that from Scotland but we want to get at least a few thousand,” he said.
”We’ve been looking at this for many months (creating a factory in Dundee) but we are getting to the point where we need to make decisions and get going.”
Mr Remp said Dundee remains his preferred location but lack of movement is forcing him to consider manufacturing elsewhere.
”We’re already looking at the north east but Dundee remains my preference,” he said. ”What I would really like to see if a partnership between government and business.
”We would employ a few hundred people but what would happen is it would draw other businesses around it.”’World leader’Mr Remp added: ”All the expertise is here to capture the offshore industry and I personally think Dundee is so well placed to become a world leader.
”But there are loads of other places, not just in England but in Europe, that want that crown and they are not going to sit back and wait to see what Dundee does.”
Mr Remp came to the Scotland from the US in 1972 when Dundee and Aberdeen were vying to become home to Scotland’s oil industry.
He said: ”I think Dundee was really well-placed to capture the initiative and if not lead the industry then at least to be on a par with Aberdeen.
”I went to Dundee in the early 1970s when I started Ramco and it had so much to offer. It had the labour force and potentially good facilities but there was no appetite, no will for it to happen.
”I’m fearful that if we are not careful we will see a re-run.”
Scottish Enterprise, which is responsible for allocating money from the NRIF has said a decision will be made soon. Ten locations, including Dundee, Methil and Leith, are all completing for a slice of the money.
Photo by Flickr user phault.