Stone calls for wind turbines to be built in the Highlands

FAR north MP, Jamie Stone, has called for wind turbines to be built in the Highlands. He made his plea in the House of Commons and urged the UK and Scottish Governments to do all they can to ensure offshore and onshore turbines are built in the area.

The Caithness, Sutherland and easter Ross MP, said exisiting fabrication facilities could be used for the construction and claimed the turbines "seem to be built anywhere except in Scotland", despite places like the Highlands being home to numerous windfarms.

Mr Stone said: "The Nigg Yard in my constituency, where I once worked myself, has in the past provided vital local employment, something that did much to help reverse depopulation which has been the curse of the Highlands for hundreds of years.

"Right now, my constituency has many windfarms, both onshore and offshore. But something which annoys me is that the wind turbines themselves always seem to be being made outside Scotland. We still have the fabrication skills from the great days of building oil platforms and the UK and Scottish Governments should do all that they can to ensure that they are once again brought into play and that we see fabrication taking place at somewhere like the Nigg Yard."

The Liberal Democrat MP added: "I believe my plea was accepted by the UK Government and I welcome the fact that they will look at how a start to genuine fabrication might be accelerated and put in place."

Earlier, Mr Stone told the Commons: "In the past the Nigg Oil Fabrication Facility in Easter Ross built some of the mightiest production platforms for the UK, I myself worked in that yard. Today, wind turbines both onshore and offshore seem to be built anywhere except in Scotland. Now, the firm that owns the Nigg yard had announced plans almost four months ago to get into fabrication. Since then, we have not heard a lot. I don’t expect the minister to have the answer to his fingertips, could he ask his department to have a look and see how progress is coming along on that front, it’s crucially important to the local workforce."

Kwasi Kwarteng, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said: "I’d be very happy to speak to the department and come back to the honourable gentleman."

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