Engineering giant Doosan has announced plans to develop a Centre of Excellence at its base in Renfrew. Expansion plans could create hundreds of jobs in offshore wind turbine manufacturing.
First Minister Alex Salmond has announced plans by energy
engineering giant Doosan Power Systems to locate its renewables
R&D base - and potentially offshore wind turbine manufacturing
- in Scotland, creating hundreds of new jobs with investments worth
up to £170 million over the next ten years.
Doosan and Scottish Enterprise have agreed to enter into a
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). Under this MoU, the company
intends to locate its R&D Centre of Excellence for Renewables
at its current site at Westway in Renfrew, near Glasgow, supported
by Scottish Enterprise, creating up to 200 jobs.
A second phase would see the establishment of assembly and
manufacturing facilities in Scotland - now the company's favoured
location for wind turbine prototype-build and manufacturing.
In all, Doosan expects its offshore wind plans in Scotland to
create up to 1,700 new jobs - of which the company would directly
recruit approximately 700, with a further 1,000 employed in the
supply chain.
The news follows the separate announcement that Steel
Engineering, also based at Westway, will create a least 120 new
jobs, supported by £1.8 million Regional Selective Assistance
through Scottish Enterprise - to double its full-time workforce and
expand its business servicing a range of clean energy sectors,
including offshore wind, wave and tidal power.
Mr Salmond also announced that Skills Development Scotland is in
discussions with the Steel Engineering about a planned training
school which will be named The Renewable Energy Steel Trades
Academy. In partnership with Anniesland College, the company plans
to provide intensive and exclusive training tailored to the latest
fabrication techniques, and welding procedures required by the
renewables industry.
Visiting the two facilities, today, the First Minister said:
"Doosan Power Systems is one of the world's leading energy
technology and engineering companies and I'm delighted they have
decided to locate their R&D centre in Renfrew, Scotland, to
develop the next generation of offshore wind turbines. I'm also
excited by the prospect of Doosan establishing a manufacturing
facility in Scotland - today's announcement by the company is an
important step towards that and towards many hundreds more jobs
that will be created beyond the 200 posts announced today.