Prime Minister Andy Burnham will visit Aberdeen in the coming weeks to confront the growing crisis facing the North Sea transition, after business leaders, unions and industry bodies warned that thousands of jobs and billions of pounds of investment are at risk.
The intervention came just a day after Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce joined a major industry coalition warning that the UK Government’s forthcoming energy blueprint could derail major ScotWind projects and undermine investment across Scotland’s energy supply chain.
During Prime Minister’s Questions, Mr Burnham said he intended to visit the North-east 'soon' after SNP MP Seamus Logan raised concerns about the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP) and its potential impact on ScotWind.
Mr Burnham told MPs: 'That is exactly what I mean when I talk about supporting an industrial transition so that we can reindustrialise Scotland and other parts of the country.
'It must be done in a pragmatic way so that we can make the transition work rather than being too ideological about it, as other parties are, so I will work with the hon. Gentleman.
'I intend to visit Scotland soon to look in detail at the issues in the Aberdeen community, because I know that people have struggled with the impact of transition. Let us see what we can do to build common cause.'
Mr Logan told the Commons that ScotWind represents £78.5billion of potential investment and forms part of an overall package which Crown Estate Scotland estimates could support more than 21,000 jobs.
His intervention followed a letter to Energy Secretary Miatta Fahnbulleh, signed by the Chamber alongside Scottish Chambers of Commerce, Global Underwater Hub, Opportunity North East, Energy Transition Zone Ltd and Scottish port operators.
The letter warned that choosing the wrong pathway could 'put a substantial part of Scotland’s offshore wind opportunity at risk', with projects potentially 'delayed, scaled back or face a much harder route to construction'.
It added: 'That would weaken confidence across the supply chain, reduce the prospect of contracts coming to Scotland and make further investment in Scottish ports and industrial facilities harder to justify.
'The decision must capture the long-term scale and industrial value of ScotWind, including the consequences for energy security and North Sea communities.'
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: 'Floating offshore wind is key to harnessing more of our natural clean energy resources.
'We are working with the National Energy System Operator on delivering the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan, which will set out a strategy for how new infrastructure should be spread across the country and create growth in every postcode.'
Source: Aberdeen & Grampian Chamber of Commerce
