Scotland investing in infrastructure development for renewables industry

Scotland’s renewables sector is to receive a boost with the announcement of a £1.3 million transformation of Westway Dock, near Glasgow. The 53 hectare site is to benefit from the National Renewable Infrastructure Fund (NRIF) which is focussing on refurbishing docks to support and attract companies involved in the renewables sector, particularly those manufacturing heavy components.

The project will involve dredging to create a navigable channel and quayside improvements and will result in an increase of manufacturing locations available in Scotland. It is hoped that up to £70 million could be pumped into the site over the next decade in order to create further business infrastructure.

Scottish First Minister Alec Salmond said, “We are already seeing the potential of the renewables revolution to reindustrialise communities across Scotland, including along the Clyde. Just as Glasgow was a leading industrial location for the international maritime and shipping industry in the 19th century, the wider city region is increasingly securing its status as an important hub for offshore renewable engineering excellence in the 21st Century.”

Scotland is looking to become a renewable energy hub in the coming years, developing its extensive renewable energy resources. Part of this will include schemes to develop manufacturing of wind turbines, solar panels and other technology, and port developments could play an important role in this.

Lena Wilson, Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise says, “We have been working intensively with port owners across Scotland to look at existing infrastructure and investment required to support Scotland’s growing renewables sector. Glasgow and the West has much to offer the sector and has already claimed a place on the renewables map attracting energy heavyweights and pioneers in the offshore wind sector such as Scottish and Southern Energy, Iberdrola and Gamesa. This initial investment will help inject fresh industrial life to the upper Clyde and ensure that is capable of meeting the needs of the manufacturing companies operating in the renewable energy sector.”