Energy workers and the wider community in Levenmouth and Burntisland have challenged French multinational EDF to attend a community meeting on Thursday to respond to reports that work from a £2 billion offshore windfarm will not provide jobs in Fife.
The meeting comes after revelations that EDF, the French-owned electric utility company, plan to ship work in fabricating wind turbine jackets for the Neart na Gaoithe (NNG) development abroad to Indonesia instead of building them in Fife yards, which are currently lying empty and idle.
These yards are a mere 10 miles from the site of the proposed windfarm which will host the wind turbines.
At Buckhaven Community Education Centre, from 6pm to 8pm, an alliance of trade unionists, community groups, elected representatives and environmental campaigners will come together to demand answers from EDF.
The Fife – Ready for Renewal campaign, is comprised of the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC), GMB and Unite, and is attracting support from community groups and the wider public, as well as environmental campaign group Friends of the Earth.
Grahame Smith, general secretary of the STUC, said: “This is an opportunity for EDF to engage with the community, to discuss the future of the industry in Fife and their plans for construction of the turbine jackets.
“There is a proud industrial history in Fife, and workers are standing ready to help deliver the much needed renewable energy infrastructure.”
EDF has not yet said if it will be represented at the meeting, but has previously stressed that no Scottish company has the capability to manufacture and supply all the steel work required for the project.
However, the firm says it is “committed” to using Scottish firms for parts of the contracts.
