Energy technology and engineering company Doosan Power Systems Ltd has announced plans to invest £170 million in Scottish wind power research and development and manufacturing over the next 10 years.
An initial investment will go towards developing offshore wind turbines at a new
research and development Centre of Excellence for Renewables being opened by
Doosan Power in Renfrew, near Glasgow, with plans to invest in wind turbine manufacturing further down the line.
R&D facility
Doosan's new R&D centre will develop aturbine measuring more than six megawatts (MW) to specifically meet the needs of the UK and Eurpean offshore wind. The investment will initially create up to 200 new jobs, said Doosan. The company expects to create a further 500 jobs through wind turbine prototype building and manufacturing over the coming decade at its Renfrew facilities. It is estimated another 1000 Scottish jobs could be created indirectly in the supply chain.
Memoradum of understanding
The new initiative is supported by economic development agency Scottish Enterprise and today Doosan and Scottish Enterprise announced they had signed a memorandum of understanding to develop Doosan’s
operations in Scotland.
"Together we hope to develop cutting-edge wind power technology that will enhance the role of
renewables in the energy mix," said Jean-Michel Aubertin, Doosan Power Systems chief executive officer.
Scottish draw
Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond, who was also at the launch today, said he was "delighted" Doosan had picked Scotland to develop its next generation of offshore wind turbines. Doosan, whose parent company is located in Seoul, Korea, has a UK head office in Crawley, West Sussex, as well as Renfrew.
"Today’s announcement by the company is an important step towards [establishing a manufacturing facility in Scotland] and towards many hundreds more jobs that will be created beyond the 200 posts announced today," he said. "This latest multi-million pound offshore wind
investment announcement underlines Scotland’s growing reputation for excellence and
innovation in clean energy design and engineering."
Today’s announcement follows several other cleantech energy investments in Scotland, including a £3 billion investment by Iberdrola, owner of ScottishPower, last year.
Doosan Power Systems has been involved in power generation for over 100 years and is behind a 3 MW turbine, Doosan Babcock boilers and Skoda Power steam turbines.
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Related content:
Renewables
Green R&D
Related links:
www.doosanpowersystems.com
