South Korean giant Samsung Heavy Industries has refused to be drawn on the future of its flagship £100 million wind turbine programme in Fife.
The company has been carrying out tests on its world-leading 7MW demonstrator device at Fife Energy Park since it was erected late last year.
However, SHI has remained tight-lipped about its long-term plans for the site and whether it still intends to go ahead with a potential £100m investment in a new factory at the site.
In early 2012 SHI’s then chief executive officer Insik Roh joined with First Minister Alex Salmond to announce the company’s intention to establish a major manufacturing facility at Methil once its turbine technology demonstration programme was completed.
It was a project that promised to create up to 500 jobs for Fife if it came to fruition.
However, SHI confirmed in June that it was considering its future in the European offshore wind sector as it developed a new overall business strategy.
At that time it said it was committed to securing a high-performance prototype turbine and had made “rapid progress so far”.
However, it did not make specific comment on Methil or the wider investment programme envisaged.
The Courier has since sought clarification of the firm’s intentions, but no further statement has been forthcoming from SHI.
Specifically, the firm declined to say whether it planned to dismantle its demonstrator turbine at Methil and quit the testing programme; whether it would maintain an administrative base in Fife; and whether it remained committed to the establishment of an offshore wind turbine manufacturing facility in the region.
The firm has a small core of around 20 staff, including technicians and engineers, based in the Renewable Innovation Centre at Fife Energy Park to oversee the testing programme.