Courtesy of Scottish Enterprise
Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) is to receive £6.04million POWERS funding to help with the development of its latest 7MW Offshore Wind Turbine prototype at the Energy Park in Fife. The money will support an intended total investment of £100 million in Scotland, which SHI announced last year. Their aim is to launch a test demonstration project, followed by the creation of turbine manufacturing facilities in Scotland in the longer term.
John Swinney MSP
Finance Secretary, John Swinney, welcomed the news during a visit to Samsung Heavy Industries in South Korea. “Today’s announcement marks a significant step forward in establishing a globally competitive supply chain for the offshore wind industry,” he said. “This development, which is being undertaken by Samsung Heavy Industries with more than £6 million support from Scottish Enterprise, will utilise newly developed technologies which have not yet been deployed offshore – further confirming Scotland’s commitment to innovation in the offshore wind production sector. Fife can play a key role in developing knowledge and research in the energy sector. The site at Fife Energy Park offers the ideal location for a cutting edge test centre like this.”
SHI has already awarded multi-million pound contracts to companies in Scotland as part of the project to develop the test turbine. This marks a significant step in establishing a globally competitive supply chain for the offshore wind industry. Subject to the conclusion of commercial negotiations, SHI will start constructing the prototype turbine later this year. It will be placed on the sea bed around 35 meters from the shore in an area set aside by the Crown Estate for the project.
According to Chan Hee Son, UK Project Manager of Samsung Heavy Industries, the announcement was “a major step forward in our plans to develop our latest offshore wind technology in Scotland and is a real testament to the Scottish Government’s support of the Offshore Wind Energy Industry.”
Lena Wilson
Chief Executive
Scottish Enterprise
Fife plays an important part in developing a growing cluster of economic activity on Scotland’s east coast, all of which is designed to support the development of the offshore wind industry. The cluster combines natural resources with industry expertise, existing offshore experience, academic strength, and excellent port infrastructure. SHI, along with other global energy players such as Areva and Gamesa, is helping to build a potential manufacturing hub on the east coast – which will offer huge opportunities for supply chain companies in Scotland.
Lena Wilson, chief executive of Scottish Enterprise, argued that the success of companies in Scotland in securing business from Samsung “demonstrates that we are building a strong supply chain – which is critical if we are to truly realise our offshore wind potential.”
Scotland is increasingly becoming recognised as a centre of expertise for the next generation of offshore wind energy technologies and POWERS was set up to help create the right investment conditions for inward investors looking for the best location for manufacturing, including prototype testing.