A UK developer has sparked debate on capturing economic value from the country’s offshore wind boom, particularly on “black trades” and manufacturing.
Global Energy Group is planning to develop a manufacturing cluster around the £100million fabrication plant it is proposing to build at its Port of Nigg facility on the shores of the Cromarty Firth.
Turbines blades and towers are among the “prime areas” pinpointed as having significant growth potential for the UK’s renewables supply chain.
Western Isles councillors are confident that Burntisland Fabrications’ (BiFab) decision to call in administrators will “free up” the firm’s Lewis yard, making it available for new operators to move in.
DNV GL has launched an international industry consortium in collaboration with Dutch glass production expert company Celsian to develop the technology required for a gradual transition from natural gas to hydrogen as a fuel in energy-intensive industrial production processes.
Manufacturing output has hit a two-and-a-half year high, but businesses have warned they may be forced to raise prices as input costs jump on the back of the weaker pound.
Output in Britain’s manufacturing industry has continued to rally after a post-Brexit vote slump despite a worse-than-expected performance from industrial production.
Manufacturing remains “subdued” after the fourth consecutive quarter, when a majority of firms saw output fall, according to a new study.
Manufacturers are having a “flat” start to the year, with only limited signs of a recovery in exports, new research has shown. The CBI said production and orders showed signs of stabilising in the last three months, but business optimism has fallen.
Growth in Britain’s manufacturing sector ticked up at the start of the year as firms’ costs were eased by plunging oil prices, but it remains “stuck in a low gear”, figures showed today. The sector posted a better-than-expected reading of 53 on the closely-watched CIPS/Markit purchasing managers’ index survey for January - where 50 separates growth from contraction. It was up from 52.7 in December. Firms were aided by the slump in oil prices which fed through to the steepest drop in input costs for nearly six years and they also cut their selling prices for only the second time during the past five years.