Scotland’s economy secretary has started a row with one of the country’s largest companies by blaming it for the problems at a troubled manufacturing business. Fiona Hyslop told MSPs that Burntisland Fabrications (Bifab) had lost out on a competitive tender for work on SSE’s £3 billion Seagreen offshore wind farm. She stated that the decision had been pivotal in the firm being unable to reopen its mothballed yards in Fife and Lewis and expressed her extreme disappointment with SSE. SSE, based in Perth, owns wind farms, electricity networks and transmission infrastructure and is one of the few companies with its headquarters in Scotland to be in the blue-chip FTSE 100 index on London’s stock exchange. The company pointed out that it was committed to spending billions building offshore and onshore wind farms in Scotland over the next few years. Ms Hyslop said: “I am extremely disappointed SSE did not award the Seagreen contract to Bifab. This decision has been pivotal in the situation which Bifab now faces. The Bifab bid was competitive with all other UK and European bids. Furthermore Bifab’s tender included fully procured Scottish steel giving SSE an opportunity to demonstrate its support for the Scottish supply chain during these challenging times.”
Times 4th Nov 2020 read more »
BiFab cannot be bailed out due to state aid rules, MSPs told. The Scottish Government cannot legally provide any more financial support to the struggling BiFab yards, Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop has said.
Energy Voice 3rd Nov 2020 read more »