The Scottish government has declined to provide “assurances” to BiFab covering the supply of foundations for the 450MW Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind farm, according to the Scottish fabricator.
The company said it has informed project developer EDF Renewables and lead foundations contractor Saipem of the situation. The government is a minority shareholder in the fabrication company.
“BiFab can confirm that following a decision by the Scottish Government that it can no longer provide assurances for the NnG jacket fabrication contract, the company has informed EDF and Saipem that it can’t provide the required assurances for the work,” said BiFab.
“BiFab recognises that this makes an award of the contract very challenging. The company and its partners have worked extremely hard to secure this important contract.”
It added: “BiFab’s board of directors is now considering the path forward for the company.”
EDF Renewables confirmed the communication with BiFab but said no decision on the contract has been made yet.
“If a supplier becomes unable to meet its obligations under an agreement, we have a duty to all parties involved in NnG to consider the most appropriate steps to ensure the successful delivery of the project,” said a spokeswoman.
BiFab was last year lined up to supply eight jackets to Saipem for the project, which is located 15.5km off Fife. However, no firm deal has been signed.
The GMB union criticised the Scottish government over the decision and said it makes Boris Johnson’s pledge of a green jobs revolution “even more comical”.
“Instead of doing what they said in helping to secure the future of the Scottish supply chain in offshore wind, by refusing to guarantee the contract for NNG the Scottish government have instead chosen to put the nail in the coffin of Scottish fabrication for offshore wind,” said GMB official Hazel Nolan.
“Scotland is unique amongst the world’s nations in being a world leader in developing offshore wind farms – yet a world loser when it comes to actually creating jobs in that sector.”
The Scottish government said that it has invested £37.4m through a combination of equity and loan facilities and converted this to a 32.4% equity stake in BiFab. A loan facility of £15 million has also been provided to support working capital, a spokesman said.
“We have been working collaboratively alongside the BiFab Board, EDF and Saipem to try to find a solution which would allow for the delivery of the NnG contract in Scotland,” said a statement.
“The Scottish Government can only financially support BiFab, or any other commercial enterprise, in so far as a commercial investor would do the same. Without majority shareholder investment in the company or yards we have exhausted the options for what financial support we can provide legally.
“We will continue to do everything possible to support the business while recognising the need for us to remain in line with State Aid regulations and we will be engaging with Trades Unions and local representatives in the coming days.”
Neart na Gaoithe will feature Siemens Gamesa turbines and is due online in 2022.