Following the announcement that Gamesa has ruled out Dundee as the base for its new offshore wind turbine manufacturing plant, our business editor looks back at a long-running series of negotiations.
Gamesa’s name was first linked to Dundee following a trade relations visit to Spain by the First Minister in September 2010.
During Alex Salmond’s visit, the turbine manufacturer indicated its intention to scope out opportunities in the offshore wind sector in Scotland. No specific location for that interest was given, but speculation soon mounted Dundee could be in line for a possible renewables bonanza given its deep water port, the availability of development land at the quayside and its local manufacturing skills base.
Council leader Ken Guild did nothing to dispel the optimism, saying Dundee was ”in the running” for a major renewables investment.
In January this year it emerged Gamesa had developed a memorandum of understanding with the council, Forth Ports and Scottish Enterprise over a possible major development at Dundee. The agreement was said to be a ”stepping stone” towards Dundee securing investment from Gamesa.
On the back of that announcement, Alex Salmond said he believed Dundee had a ”bright future as a centre of renewables development in Scotland.” Gamesa chief executive Jorge Calvet said: ”Dundee could generate significant local, skilled and sustainable jobs over the coming years.”
In March, Dundee made a further bid for Scotland’s renewables crown with the launch of Energy Training East, a scheme to prepare recruits for working in the offshore wind industry. The initiative saw Forth Ports come together with Dundee City Council, Tayside’s universities and colleges and bodies such as Scottish Enterprise to train a new workforce for the sector.
In May, the First Minister was forced to fend off an attack by Labour leader Ed Miliband who warned of false promises being made over the future of the green energy sector in Tayside and Fife.
A month later, Dundee City Council’s economic development convener announced a £2 million upgrade to the entrance to Dundee Port designed to ”open up” the port for renewables investment.
By August, the first signs of a possible problem with Gamesa’s plans emerged when the company moved to roll back a strategic alliance to develop windfarms with Iberdrola, the owners of ScottishPower.
However, Gamesa insisted its proposed Dundee development was unaffected.
In September Jorge Calvet flew to Scotland to attend the Scottish Low Carbon Investment Conference in Edinburgh. He and the First Minister then went on to open Gamesa’s new offshore wind technology research centre at Strathclyde Business Park, but the occasion passed without any mention of investment for Dundee.
Later that month, Gamesa revealed Dundee was in a two-horse race with the English port of Hartlepool as it considered where to locate its new base. The company said a decision would be made by October 31.
On November 1, The Courier reported Gamesa had broken its own deadline and had failed to declare the site of its new manufacturing base. The firm said further scoping reports were required before a decision could be made.
Then on Friday came the news that Gamesa has ruled out Dundee as a possible base and is now considering locating at Leith a sister dock in the Forth Ports group or Hartlepool.