Former BiFab yard in Fife to reopen with wind turbine contract

The Methil fabrication yard in Fife is to reopen after securing a contract to fabricate eight platforms for wind turbines.

It should create 290 jobs at the former BiFab site, directly employed and in supplies, with work starting in July.

The Arnish yard on Lewis may also get some support work, as well as sites in Belfast and Devon.

The yards were owned by BiFab, which went into administration last December, before being taken over by InfraStrata.

The platforms will be supplied for wind turbines being installed off the coast of Fife.

The Neart na Gaoithe (NnG) scheme is one of Scotland's biggest renewable energy projects, and once completed will provide power for 375,000 homes.

Trade unions Unite and GMB welcomed the announcement, but added that it had to be "the first steps in a long journey of investment and contracts for our offshore wind supply chain".

The Methil fabrication yard had previously been unable to secure the deal to fabricate turbine platforms, after the Scottish government, a part owner of the firm, withdrew its offer of a £30m contract guarantee.

It claimed it was no longer legal for a government to do so.

The yard was taken over in February by London firm InfraStrata, operating under the historic Harland and Wolff brand, which already owned a shipyard in Belfast.

The Methil fabrication yard has become a focus of the disappointment and frustration at so few manufacturing jobs coming to Scotland from the renewable energy boom.

Scotland has not secured a turbine factory, and its hopes of fabrication work have been dashed because the drive to reduce costs on offshore wind have pushed developers to place orders with overseas yards which have more scale, efficiency and government subsidy.

So although 290 jobs is a modest start in employment, the contract is an important and symbolic turnaround.

Infrastrata appears to understand the need for scale and efficiency by deploying all its fabrication sites. Its Fife-raised chief executive John Wood sounds more confident than we have heard for a long time about a pipeline of further contracts in "advanced negotiations".

The NnG wind farm developer is also reminding us that jobs are not only in manufacturing, but in port facilities at Dundee and Leith, and a permanent maintenance base at Eyemouth.

InfraStrata chief executive John Wood said the deal unlocked potential for further work, and that he was in "advanced negotiations" on a significant number of other contracts

He added: "The geographical proximity of our Methil facility to the North Sea makes it an ideal site for fabrication and load-out to wind farm projects such as this.

"This will enable us to spread workstreams across our facilities to drive down costs and align ourselves to the government's goal of providing wind generated power to all homes in the UK by 2030.

"We are hugely excited about the massive potential that this first contract has unlocked."

Responding to the news, Unite Scotland and GMB Scotland said in a joint statement: "This is a welcome development, a working yard is better than an empty yard, but it has to be the first steps in a long journey of investment and contracts for our offshore wind supply chain.

"We need to take the opportunity now to work together and set out an industrial plan for Scotland's future. It's the vital ingredient that has been missing since devolution and we can't succeed without it."