South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth has urged the Scottish Government to locate a planned specialist blade facility for the decommissioning, and recycling, of old wind turbine blades at Chapelcross in Dumfriesshire.

In September, Scotland’s wind energy industry signed the Onshore Wind Sector Agreement with the Scottish Government. It commits the industry, the Scottish Government and its agencies to delivering a recycling hub in Scotland to support supply chains to reuse and refurbish parts from windfarms.

Colin Smyth and a cross party group of local MSPs recently wrote to cabinet secretary Neil Gray MSP to make the case for Chapelcross, and Colin Smyth also raised the issue in a Scottish Parliament debate last week on the green economy, when he criticised the fact that although Dumfries and Galloway had more windfarms per head of population than anywhere else in Scotland, few of the jobs from the renewable industry were based in the region. He argued that creating the Hub in the area could bring 80 jobs to the local economy.

Speaking in the debating chamber, Colin Smyth said: “The Scottish Government recognised in September, when it agreed, as part of the onshore wind sector agreement with the industry, to deliver a specialist blade facility in Scotland for the decommissioning and recycling of old wind turbine blades.

“A cross-party group of MSPs and I have written to the cabinet secretary to make the case for that hub to be at Chapelcross in Dumfries and Galloway, which is the optimal location for Scotland’s blade hub.

“Using the former nuclear power station would be a visible example of a just transition in action, and it would fit in with the Government’s commitment to the Borderlands inclusive growth deal, with its pledge to make Chapelcross a focal point for clean energy.

“The site is at the geographical centre of the on-and-offshore decommissioning pipeline, with major wind farms not only across South Scotland but in north Wales and Northern Ireland.

“As I have highlighted, there is an opportunity to do so by locating Scotland’s blade hub at Chapelcross.

“It already has service land available via South of Scotland Enterprise and the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority”.

The local MSP highlighted the work of the company ReBlade Ltd, the UK’s only specialist turbine decommissioning provider, founded by wind energy experts Stephen and Fiona Lindsay and currently operationally based in Cargenbridge in Dumfries.

Colin Smyth said: “The region is the operational base of ReBlade, which is the UK’s first blade-decommissioning company.

“That high-growth Scottish start-up would be an obvious anchor enterprise to lead Scotland’s new blade hub. It is a great example of an indigenous innovation that was born out of the Scottish green energy sector.

“It is an existing supplier of blade services to major wind farm developers and turbine original equipment manufacturers.

“The company is already delivering contracts for its innovative work in turning those blades into public realm furniture.

“It has pioneered blade material repurposing research and development, it is a global leader in circular blade innovation, and it has established links with academic blade research and organisations, including the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland.

“The company already has existing specialist supply chains located in Dumfries and Galloway, which will be required to grow, and it forecasts that there will be 80 full-time jobs situated in Chapelcross by 2030 if we grab the opportunity.”

Colin Smyth added: “I hope that, at the very least, the cabinet secretary will respond positively to the request in our letter to meet me and the cross-party MSPs who are based in Dumfries and Galloway to discuss the opportunities that locating Scotland’s blade hub at Chapelcross would bring to the local economy.”