Aberdeen, Scotland-based energy company SeaEnergy's 80 percent-owned subsidiary SeaEnergy Renewables and China-based Nantong COSCO Ship Steel Structure Company (NCSC) have signed a cooperation agreement to develop and market steel structures for the offshore wind industry.
The agreement, the first of its kind between a Scottish firm and a major state-owned Chinese offshore wind energy company, was announced following a formal signing ceremony in Shanghai on July 6, attended by Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond.
Under the agreement the two companies will develop a detailed business plan and commercial framework to develop and market turbine jacket substructures, towers and access systems for offshore wind farms.
Between 6,000 and 9,000 turbines are expected to be built in the coming decades on the UK coast for the project, press sources reported, adding that as many as 20,000 jobs are expected in Scotland from the deal.
First Minister Salmond said at the ceremony, "By harnessing just a third of the potential wind, wave and tidal resource off Scotland's coast, by 2050 we could power Scotland seven times over - enabling us to become a massive exporter of clean, green energy, generating an estimated £14 billion in value and supporting around 60,000 jobs."