Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond today welcomed the signing of a strategic agreement between SSE (Scottish and Southern Energy) and Mitsubishi (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Mitsubishi Power Systems Europe) to co-operate on low carbon energy developments. The two companies will now explore a range of technologies including offshore wind farms, advanced technology for smart electricity grids and low carbon vehicles, carbon capture and storage and high-efficiency power generation.
This new agreement builds on SSE's establishment last October of a Centre of Engineering Excellence in Renewable Energy — in partnership with the University of Strathclyde — and should lead to up to 100 additional new highly-skilled, engineering-based jobs being created at the Centre. This is expected to grow to up to 1000 jobs over five years.
First Minister Salmond said: "Scotland is taking a lead in the global journey to a low carbon future through our commitment to world-leading greenhouse gas reductions and to harnessing our vast wind and marine power resources and established expertise in engineering and innovation to deliver clean, green energy. I am very pleased to welcome this exciting new partnership between Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, an industrial giant with historic links to Scotland, and Scottish and Southern Energy, the largest generator of renewable electricity in these islands.
"I'm also delighted that just nine months after Glasgow was confirmed as the location for the new Centre of Engineering Excellence, SSE expects up to 1000 people to be employed here within five years, delivering a further boost to the city and to Scotland's growing low-carbon economy."
Economic opportunity
Colin Hood, Chief Operating Officer of SSE, said: "This agreement represents one of the most significant industrial partnerships to be established in Scotland since the heyday of North Sea oil — and low carbon energy represents Scotland's biggest economic opportunity since then. As the UK's broadest-based energy company, SSE has extensive interests and opportunities in low carbon developments, and our partnership with Mitsubishi should help us to make the most of them."
And Senior Executive Vice President of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries' Senior Executive Vice President, Ichiro Fukue, said: "I am delighted to be working closely with SSE on the important challenge of moving towards a low carbon economy. The two great island nations of the United Kingdom and Japan are providing global leadership in this field, and it is very satisfying for me to be building on the links between MHI and Scotland that were established in the 1860s by Thomas Glover. Mr Glover was a key person assisting the industrialisation of Japan through his support for the foundation of the origin of our company, Nagasaki Shipyard."
Mitsubishi and SSE are working together to become strategic partners in low carbon electricity production and management and in low carbon transport technology. They hope to establish joint development projects, ventures, investments and supply arrangements through this agreement. Subject to the progress of the agreement, SSE and Mitsubishi intend to focus on, in the first instance, the delivery of renewable energy from offshore sites and the deployment of low carbon vehicles.
