Latest news with #JustTransitionFund
The Herald Scotland
4 days ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Flagship SNP Government fund creates few renewables jobs
Supporters of the Inch Cape windfarm off the Angus coast claim it will be able to generate enough green energy to power half the homes in Scotland while making a major contribution to the UK economy. Development work is expected to be completed in 2027 following more than £3.5 billion investment in the UK's energy infrastructure. We are told this should include a significant boost for the Scottish supply chain. Take a closer look, however, and it appears that Scottish suppliers are only in line to get the scraps from the table. The bad news comes after a report found last week that the Just Transition Fund has created a risible number of jobs since it was launched amid fanfare in 2021. READ MORE: Scale of SNP Government climate change failings underlined by experts Inch Cape held an event in Montrose town hall earlier this month to highlight the opportunities for local firms to win business. This is the kind of talk that SNP ministers love. But the contracts for the supply of the most valuable and labour-intensive elements of the 72-turbine project were awarded to firms based overseas long ago. Chinese businesses were engaged to supply the foundations and towers for the turbines. Smulders of Belgium and Germany's Siemens Energy won the contract for electrical transmission infrastructure, some of which will be produced in Wallsend, Newcastle. Vestas of Denmark will supply the giant turbine blades for the windfarm. Scotland does not have a suitable production facility, despite SNP Governments making lots of noise about putting the infrastructure in place to ensure the offshore wind supply chain prospers. READ MORE: SNP Government green jobs failure seen in English city's success There was excitement in June last year when Vestas announced that it was considering developing a turbine blade production plant on the site of Leith docks in Edinburgh. Such a plant would expect to bid for work that may be awarded by the firms that are considering developing a new generation of floating windfarms off Scotland. However, the Leith site will face competition for investment by Vestas from other places as the company weighs up opportunities in the global market. Asked when the company expected to decide whether to go ahead, a spokesperson said: 'Vestas has identified the Port of Leith as a possible location for a wind turbine blade manufacturing facility. 'A final investment decision has not been made and will be based on several factors including the viability of the business case and the market outlook.' The spokesperson said Vestas would utilise its existing network of production plants to fulfil the Inch Cape contract without elaborating. Vestas has plants on the continent and one on the Isle of Wight. This produced blades used on SSE's Seagreen windfarm off Angus but is now focusing on onshore projects. READ MORE: As Chevron closes Aberdeen office, what now for North Sea jobs? Scottish firms have had to battle for a share of the smaller contracts for Inch Cape windfarm work. The Inch Cape website states that around £150m has been spent with 125 Scottish companies to date. That works out at around £1.2m each. In terms of long-term jobs impact, Scotland must make the most of the 50 jobs that are expected to be created at the Montrose operations and maintenance base. The profits generated on the output from the windfarm will go to ESB of Ireland and Chinese-owned Red Rock Power which have equal stakes in the project. The companies may claim they deserve to do well after sticking with a project that has been years in development. However, the scheme benefited from crucial UK Government support that will be funded by households. The windfarm will get revenue support under the Contracts for Difference programme. It won an award in the fourth CFD allocation round held in 2022, which was topped up in round 6 last year. READ MORE: Israeli-owned firm takes control of UK's biggest gas field Banks around the world will also share in the spoils. Some 22 lenders sighed up to support the funding round completed by Inch Cape's shareholders in January. The exercise will have provided work for armies of well-paid advisers. To put the Scottish employment numbers in perspective, Equinor has said the Rosebank oil field development it plans to complete West of Shetland will support around 1,600 jobs at the height of construction work and 450 UK-based posts during the operations phase. But former first minister Humza Yousaf condemned the UK Government's decision to approve the Rosebank development in September 2023. His predecessor Nicola Sturgeon claimed then that work on Rosebank risked slowing the green transition and the jobs that came from it. During Ms Sturgeon's term as FM, in 2021, the SNP Government struck a collaboration deal with the Scottish Greens and turned against the oil and gas industry. Since the agreement unravelled in April last year, the SNP Government led by John Swinney has vacillated about what line to take on oil and gas ahead of the Holyrood elections that are expected to be held next May. READ MORE: SNP Government oil hypocrisy shocking amid Scottish jobs cull The Scottish Government has yet to publish a final version of the draft energy strategy issued by Ms Sturgeon in January 2023, which said the development of renewables should be accelerated. The draft recommended a presumption against further oil and gas exploration in the North Sea. The future of Rosebank was cast into doubt after a Scottish court ruled in January that approval was unlawful because it failed to take account of all the related emissions. Equinor will have to submit a fresh environmental impact assessment that provides the data required. However, the green jobs promised by Ms Sturgeon and predecessors have not materialised. Last week came fresh proof that the centrepiece of Ms Sturgeon's job creation strategy has had negligible impact. In a bid to keep supporters in the SNP's North East Scotland heartlands onside Ms Sturgeon announced the £500m Just Transition Fund in 2021. The fund was suspended following the first two years of applications as MSPs expressed serious concern about its effectiveness. It was reopened to applications in May although the SNP Government has yet to publish the refresh of the just transition strategy that it promised. A report issued quietly by the SNP Government on July 7 noted the fund had created the grand total of 110 jobs in the first two years and supported 120 others. This followed a £43m outlay. The authors insisted nonetheless that the fund had provided the foundations for economic and environmental change by supporting initiatives such as the development of a skills passport to help oil and gas workers transition to renewables. That will probably provide little comfort to the 250 Aberdeen workers who are set to lose their jobs under the cost-cutting programme announced by North Sea oil heavyweight Harbour Energy in May.
The Herald Scotland
10-07-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Could Reform overtake Labour and SNP in the North East?
Scottish Labour and the SNP would be wise to get their houses in order, or the North East of Scotland will be shaded blue-green in 2026. While rural Aberdeenshire has long been a Conservative bastion, the SNP has challenged them in recent decades, returning parliamentarians throughout the region, including former First Minister Alex Salmond. However, the spectre of Reform is posed to undo the small mercies received by the Nats last year, when they won three seats in Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire despite being wiped out nearly everywhere else. I can remember the oddity of it all, as SNP councillors and activists cheered the election of Aberdeenshire North and Moray East MP Seamus Logan sometime around four in the morning on the 5th of July, 2024. Of course, it soon became apparent that Mr Logan owed his seat in part to massive Tory defections to Reform. The insurgents received 14.6% of the vote, as Conservative boss Douglas Ross saw his vote share drop by 15.6%. Douglas Ross lost his MP seat in part due to a Reform insurgency. (Image: Jane Barlow/ PA wire) And Scottish Labour has been much-diminished across the region, a far cry from their once-dominant reign over Aberdeen City Council, which they held between 1974 and 2003 alongside two red MPs. For example, at the last Holyrood election, Labour candidates failed to gain more than 25% of the vote in all nine North East constituencies. Now, local councillors, clearly sensing the changing winds, have jumped from the Tories to Reform en masse; with six in Aberdeenshire and one in Aberdeen at last count. Ex-MP Ross Thomson has become the latest high-profile North East Tory to defect. And as oil and gas job losses in the area mount, local frustration and anger has only increased. Mr Farage and his band of rascals are well placed to mop up votes from a disaffected electorate, a reality portended by a visit he paid to the Granite City last month. In the small villages and hamlets of Aberdeenshire, cuts to library services and sheltered housing have led to false rumours of busloads of illegal migrants being dropped off in Peterhead and Fraserburgh. In Aberdeen, 250 jobs at Harbour Energy are to be axed, and energy giant Chevron is planning to leave the city after fifty years. Labour and the SNP have failed to respond to these challenges effectively, opening the door for a Reform surge next year. According to a new report, the Scottish Government's shiny 'Just Transition Fund' has led to the creation of only 110 jobs. The £43m fund was set up in 2021 by then-First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, but recent analysis has found that many of the jobs created are 'temporary, project-based, or contingent on further investment'. READ MORE Meanwhile, Labour has resisted calls from North East business chiefs to scrap the energy windfall tax, part of a 78% tariff rate on oil and gas companies. The much ballyhooed Great British Energy, promised to be a magic bullet for the region's prospects, has yet to materialise. Even if the SNP maintain their majorities in individual constituencies, Reform will doubtless return several MSPs on the regional list, which included four Tories in 2021. Working people in the North East are calling out for change. They want job security and essential services, public spaces and affordable housing. And they don't care if they burn down the whole system for a chance to get what they want.
Cision Canada
09-07-2025
- Automotive
- Cision Canada
Neo Wins Another Traction Motor Award with an Additional Tier 1 and OEM Customer in Europe
TORONTO, July 9, 2025 /CNW/ - Neo Performance Materials Inc. (" Neo" or the " Company") (TSX: NEO) (OTCQX: NOPMF) today announced that it has been awarded the supply contract for a new platform of permanent rare earth magnets with a prominent European Tier 1 supplier of electric vehicle (" EV") traction motors to a major OEM. Both the Tier 1 and OEM represent new additions to Neo's growing customer base. This new commercial partnership further strengthens Neo's reputation as a preferred supplier to multiple automotive clients. These magnets will be supplied by Neo's new rare earth magnet facility in Narva, Estonia, which is already producing and shipping qualification samples to meet contract obligations of automotive platforms it has been awarded. The project award is estimated to be approximately $50 million in cumulative revenues over the life of the project at current rare earth market prices, based on customer projections. Commercial delivery of the magnets is anticipated to begin in mid-2026 for this award. Neo's new European facility is the first sintered magnet plant to come online outside Asia, with an explicit focus on European and North American Electric Vehicle, Industrial Power Tooling, and Offshore Wind customers. The facility has already been awarded multiple traction motor magnets – widely regarded as the most technically demanding product category for sintered magnets for its high requirements in power and heat management. The facility has also expanded its product categories to non-traction-motor applications as demand for local supply chains has increased. Co-funded by the European Union's Just Transition Fund, this facility is projected to produce 2,000 t/year in phase 1, with plans to scale to over 5,000 t/year in Phase 2. The official opening ceremony for this plant will be held in September of this year, the details of which will follow in the coming weeks. Rahim Suleman, President and CEO said: "We welcome yet another commercial recognition from a new customer. What the team has accomplished in this new European rare earth permanent magnet facility is remarkable. The Neo team successfully built this magnet plant in just 500 days and is responding to growing demand from automotive customers with a sense of urgency, while staying grounded in our principles of responsible ramp-up curves for new plants. We are here for our customers, and we are proud that they are recognizing us in return." Through its bonded magnetic materials business, Neo has been a designer, manufacturer and supplier of rare earth magnetic products for EV and PHEV traction motors for years – a highlight being the design of the first commercialized and supplied heavy-rare-earth-free magnetic powder in current NEV motors. Neo has been supplying rare earth magnetic products to the automotive and industrial motor industries for over three decades. About Neo Performance Materials Neo manufactures the building blocks of many modern technologies that enhance efficiency and sustainability. Neo's advanced industrial materials – magnetic powders, rare earth magnets, magnetic assemblies, specialty chemicals, metals, and alloys – are critical to the performance of many everyday products and emerging technologies. Neo's products fast-forward technologies for the net-zero transition. The business of Neo is organized along three segments: Magnequench, Chemicals & Oxides and Rare Metals. Neo is headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Canada; with corporate offices in Greenwood Village, Colorado, United States; Singapore; and Beijing, China. Neo has a global platform that includes manufacturing facilities located in China, Germany, Canada, Estonia, Thailand and the United Kingdom, as well as a dedicated research and development center in Singapore. For more information, please visit Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward Looking Statements This news release may contain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Generally, but not always, forward-looking information and statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "believes" or the negative connotation thereof or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative connotation thereof. Specific forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, launch of the new project award, operational expectations resulting from the project award, revenue expectations and other matters relating thereto. In making the forward-looking information in this news release, the Company has applied certain factors and assumptions that are based on its current beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Although the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect, and the forward-looking information in this release are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause future results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking information. There are many risk factors associated with the launch and operations of the new project platform. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by the Company, including but not limited to the risks and uncertainties inherent in the nature of operations including the risks of a material adverse change in the Company's assets or revenues, or risks of unknown liabilities that may arise. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company does not intend, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking information whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. For more information on Neo, investors should review Neo's continuous disclosure filings that are available under Neo's profile at
Telegraph
08-07-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
SNP accused of taking ‘wrecking ball' to North Sea oil and gas
SNP ministers have been accused of 'taking a wrecking ball' to North Sea oil and gas after £43 million was spent to save 120 jobs. The Just Transition Fund was formed by the Government when Nicola Sturgeon was first minister, with the hopes of spending £500 million over 10 years to move the country away from fossil fuels. However, between 2022 and 2024 – its first two years of operation – the fund paid out £43 million to 24 projects, saving just 120 jobs and creating a further 110. A report published by the Scottish Government on Monday stated that the fund helped leverage £30 million in private sector investment and £4.7 million from the public sector or charities. Projects funded by the initiative were also responsible for the training of 750 people. The Scottish Conservatives said the SNP government had 'squandered' taxpayers' money and claimed the 'paltry return' would do nothing to allay the fears of tens of thousands of highly skilled workers in Scotland's oil and gas sector. 'They know the SNP and Labour are taking a wrecking ball to their industry and this report confirms they have not got a clue how to properly protect jobs for the future,' said Douglas Lumsden, the party's Tory net zero spokesman. 'Taxpayers will be rightly thinking their money has typically been squandered by the SNP who must urgently shift from their current reckless approach if we are to achieve an affordable transition.' The Just Transition Fund aims to facilitate the North East and Moray regions' transition to a net zero economy. The report said the £43 million spend supported more than two dozen 'diverse projects' that ranged from large-scale capital investments to smaller experimental research that reflected 'the fund's commitment to economic diversification, skills development, community-led action, and low-carbon innovation'. It added: 'It has supported job creation and reskilling, empowered communities, catalysed private investment, and initiated innovation in green technologies and land restoration. 'Many of the projects are still in their early phases, and long-term impacts – particularly around carbon reduction, employment retention, and supply chain transformation – will take time to materialise. 'Nonetheless, the fund has provided the foundations for economic and environmental change.'
Times
08-07-2025
- Business
- Times
SNP transition fund spends £43m on just 110 jobs for oil workers
A fund designed to protect North Sea oil and gas workers from the SNP's net zero drive created just 110 new jobs despite spending £43 million, a new report has found. An analysis of the first two years of the Scottish government's Just Transition Fund, which is set to cost taxpayers half a billion pounds over a decade, found that it had 'safeguarded' only another 120 further existing roles. The policy, announced by Nicola Sturgeon in 2021, was intended to ensure that new green jobs are created for workers whose livelihoods depend on fossil fuel industries. A report commissioned by the Scottish government found the scheme, which backed 24 projects such as a 'sustainable' whisky distillery, an eco-tourism firm and new tidal energy research projects, could be 'a successful catalyst for economic and environmental change'. However, critics claimed that it had delivered only a 'paltry return' after the SNP repeatedly vowed that it would ensure that North Sea workers do not end up on the scrapheap as part of its plans to wind down the oil and gas industry and replace it with clean energy industries. The North Sea oil and gas industry is estimated to directly employ around 30,000 people and supports a further 100,000 indirectly. The Scottish government has said it wants to hit net zero by 2045 — five years ahead of the rest of the UK — and is sticking to the target despite repeatedly failing to hit, and then scrapping, interim targets. The analysis, carried out by the research firm Blake Stevenson Ltd, found that 47 jobs had been created through the Social Enterprise Just Transition Fund, which include positions in 'green skills training'. A handful of others were created through a nature restoration project based around the River Findhorn and an 'adventure tourism' firm. However, the report warned that many of the roles were 'temporary, project-based, or contingent on further investment' and 'may not transition into lasting opportunities'. Douglas Lumsden, the Scottish Tory net zero spokesman, said: 'This paltry return will do nothing to allay the fears of tens of thousands of highly skilled workers in Scotland's oil and gas sector. 'They know the SNP and Labour are taking a wrecking ball to their industry and this report confirms they have not got a clue how to properly protect jobs for the future. 'Taxpayers will be rightly thinking their money has typically been squandered by the SNP who must urgently shift from their current reckless approach if we are to achieve an affordable transition.' The fund was created as a counter to claims that the SNP's net zero policies, which were enthusiastically championed under Sturgeon, would cost thousands of jobs and cause devastation to the north east economy. The SNP has repeatedly claimed that it will ensure the push to net zero does not mean that communities suffer in the same way as others did under deindustrialisation under Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s. When the just transition fund was announced, ministers said they would target investment to help create 'good, green jobs' to replace those that would be lost in the North East and Moray. According to the report, the fund has also helped to leverage £30 million in private sector investment and £4.7 million from the public sector or charities. It claimed that initiatives funded by the scheme were also responsible for the training of 750 people. The report said that while the fund 'has been a successful catalyst for economic and environmental change' in the area, 'several administrative and logistical challenges have emerged'. These include uncertainty over long-term funding, confusion over the application process and a lack of clarity over funding criteria. The report said: 'Many projects remain in early stages, making it difficult to fully assess employment outcomes, carbon savings, and long-term economic benefits.' Gillian Martin, the climate action secretary, said: 'This independent report demonstrates our Just Transition Fund is a catalyst for economic growth. With £75 million allocated to the fund since 2022, the expert report makes clear it has supported job creation and re-skilling, empowered communities, catalysed private investment and initiated innovation in green technologies. 'Thanks to the Just Transition Fund, more than 230 jobs have been created and safeguarded, 750 training places opened up and over £34 million in additional investment secured in its first two years. These are the initial impacts of the fund and we are confident that job numbers, investment leveraged and other key outputs will increase as projects continue. 'This is just one example of how this government is supporting Scotland's valued and highly skilled oil and gas workers, who are at the very heart of the just transition to net zero — despite the fact that decisions on offshore oil and gas licensing, consenting and the associated fiscal regime, are all matters that are currently reserved to the UK government.'
