Scottish renewable sector gets a boost

The Scottish economy is to benefit from millions of pounds of investment in the renewable energy and carbon capture and storage (CCS) sectors, creating possibly thousands of new jobs.

International engineering firm Doosan and Scottish and Southern Electricity (SSE) are the latest companies to confirm massive investment projects in the country.

Doosan is to build a research and development centre of excellence for renewables at its current site near Glasgow, creating 200 new jobs. The company is also considering building wind turbine manufacturing sites in Scotland, which could bring in a further 1,700 jobs.

Meanwhile, SSE has announced it is to invest £3.6 billion in a range of projects, including upgrading Scotland’s electricity network and expanding its wind energy developments and CCS opportunities. The firm aims to create 7,000 jobs over the next five years.

The announcements came as energy and climate change secretary Chris Huhne pledged that the UK government would work to support the Scottish renewables sector and remove barriers to projects’ success.