Campbeltown and Kintyre are already seeing the results of the arrival of Skykon at the wind turbine manufacturing plant at Machrihanish abandoned by the dacamping carpetbagger, Vestas.
The plant had produced onshore wind turbine towers and has already won a contract to supply such towers for what will be Europe’s largest onshore wind farm, the Clyde Wind project. New staff have already been employed to fulfill this contract.
However, from the outset of its interest in the Kintyre plant, Skykon has determined to produce off-shore turbines there to feed the growth of the huge offshore wind farms progressively being licensed for operation in Scotland, across the UK and in Europe.
These include three west coast sites, for which Campbeltown is an ideal production base and for which exploratory licences have already been granted by the Crown Estates – respectively off Kintyre, Islay and Tiree.
Highlands and Islands Enterprise has now, with Skykon, agreed a contract with a construction firm to build an extension ti the Machrihanish plant, starting in February. The investment profile shows £14 million coming form Skykon for the first stage of its new operation, with a further £5 million from Highlands & Islands Enterprise towards site preparation.
With Skykon’s original saving of 100 jobs at the plant, the new jobs created for the Clyde Wind contract (under subcontract from Siemens) and more to come from the building of turbine towers for offshore operation, the expectation is that the company will be employing around 300 by 2012.
This business is a perfect fit with Argyll’s strategic position on the west coast and facing the Northern Ireland coast and with its own abundant on and offshore wind resources.
Argyll can benefit enormously in both economic and attitudinal terms from the presence of a go-ahead company with a commitment to manufacturing here and the will to maintain investment in keeping ahead of the technological game in the ever-changing developments in renewable energy generation.
The Kintyre economy will benefit too from the accompanying developments to roads in access to the harbour and of harbour facilities to assist the sea transport of completed turbine towers.
Good to see that we can read positive stories coming out of Campbeltown and Kintyre.There is more to come and that is good.
What has happened to the spectre at the feast?
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let us hope it all turns out to be true and sustainable .
i seem to remember vestas making similar wildly exaggerated claims when they first appeared .
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Ah, there he is!
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lingering in the background like an old sock lossed down the back of the chair, at the ready to pop out and drip his poison.
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