Meeting of the Parliament 20 January 2016
I am sorry that I do not have time for the minister.
It is not just in offshore wind that we have an opportunity for low-carbon energy. The new Hinkley Point C nuclear power station will provide some 20,000 jobs in the construction phase. Three Scottish companies—Doosan Babcock, SPX ClydeUnion Pumps and the Weir Group—are preferred bidders for contracts that are worth more than £1.3 billion. Those contracts could secure thousands of jobs in Scotland that utilise engineering skills—skills that are transferable from the oil and gas industry.
We cannot support the negative, backward-looking Green Party motion today. We are happy to support the Scottish Government’s forward-looking amendment, which argues for a balanced approach to energy provision and continued support for the oil and gas sector in the North Sea. I have pleasure in moving the even more forward-looking amendment in my name.
I move amendment S4M-15356.2.1, to insert at end:
“, and welcomes both the economic opportunities for Scottish businesses and the employment prospects from investment in new low-carbon energy projects, including the Beatrice Offshore Windfarm in the Moray Firth, which could create up to 5,000 new jobs, and the Hinkley Point C nuclear power station in Somerset, where three Scottish companies, Doosan Babcock, SPX ClydeUnion Pumps and the Weir Group, are preferred bidders for contracts worth more than £1.3 billion”.
Motions, questions or amendments mentioned by their reference code.