Mainstream invests £5 million to build Scottish wind turbine plant

 

Funding package will clear the way for construction of the manufacturing facility, located at the Port of Nigg in the North of Scotland, to start in January 2022, with the first turbine towers rolling off its production line in 2023

  • Mainstream, with Global Energy Group and partners, to build new wind turbine tower manufacturing plant in Scotland
  • Payment of £5 million loan is the second, significant step in Mainstream’s wider supply chain programme for Scotland
  • Mainstream is committed to further investment in Scotland’s supply chain

One of the Malin Spotlight Series main partners, Mainstream Renewable Power, working in collaboration with consortium partners Global Energy Group, Haizea Wind Group and SSE Renewables (SSER), has signed a binding contract to provide a £5 million loan to enable the construction of a new offshore wind turbine tower manufacturing plant in Scotland.  

The investment is part of a funding package which will enable the new tower manufacturing facility, located at the Port of Nigg in the north of Scotland, to reach financial close by the end of this year and enter construction in January 2022.

Mainstream’s investment and continued focus will ensure that the facility is fully ready to supply towers for the next generation of offshore wind projects which succeed in the 2025 Contracts for Difference (CfD) auction, including those in the current ScotWind round.

Welcoming the agreement, Cameron Smith, General Manager for Mainstream’s Offshore business said: “Mainstream brings a unique end-to-end supply-chain-led approach through our partnership with Siemens companies.

“Not only are we helping to fund and expedite the building of a new Scottish turbine tower manufacturing facility, we are demonstrating our plans to continue to draw upon the experiences from the world’s largest offshore wind turbine supplier, Siemens Gamesa.  Furthermore, we look forward to establishing a route for tier-two suppliers to enter this game-changing sector.

He continued: “Here at Mainstream we are about tangible delivery; this is the second of a number of real actions we are delivering as part of our wider supply chain programme which will secure the best possible economic outcome for Scotland both in the near-term and for the duration of our transition to renewable energy. We have firm plans to do much more.”

 

Nigg investment is part of wider supply chain programme that aims to repeat the success of the offshore wind hub in Hull

The £5 million investment is the second strategic element in Mainstream’s wider supply chain programme for Scotland.

In July, the company announced the revival of its supply chain-led partnership with Siemens Financial Services via Siemens Project Ventures which includes world-leading technology suppliers Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy and Siemens Energy as part of the wider development consortium. 

The partnership is responsible for the UK’s biggest offshore wind supply-chain success story, at Hull. The consortium enabled the creation of a competitive offshore-centred economy in the region, including Siemens Gamesa’s immensely successful blade manufacturing facility and service hub located at Green Port, Hull, which created 1,000 direct jobs.  

Some Fast Facts

  • The giant tower rolling factory, which will be the largest in the UK, will be located at the Port of Nigg, Scotland
  • Total investment required of more than £110m in the tower factory and enabling infrastructure at the Port of Nigg with financial backing coming from funding syndicate of SSE Renewables, Sequoia Infrastructure Debt Fund (subject to due diligence and approvals) and Mainstream Renewable Power and funding support from the Scottish Government [via Highlands and Islands Enterprise] and the UK Government, subject to completion of due diligence.
  • The Nigg factory, when fully operational, will support more than 400 direct FTE jobs in manufacturing providing reskilling opportunities for regional oil and gas employees and supporting a Just Transition.
  • Across the UK the total employment impact will be the creation of more than 1,800 FTE positions with an estimated 1,100 of these in Scotland.
  • Construction is expected to commence in January 2022, subject to reaching financial close by year-end. Site preparation, construction and commissioning is expected to take around 18 months, supporting 1,248 FTE job years across the supply chain in building works and equipment supply.
  • The giant, 450-metre-long, 38,000 m2 factory, will be capable of rolling steel plate to supply towers at 1,000 tonnes each.
  • The factory is expected to commence commercial production in 2023.
 
If you missed the sessions hosted by Mainstream and GWEC, as part of the Malin Spotlight Series, you can view them, free of charge here.