MILLIONS of pounds worth of manufacturing contracts for the renewable energy industry are going abroad because Scottish companies are failing to tender for them, according to Scottish Enterprise.
A leading figure within the energy team at Scottish Enterprise claims that many Scottish firms are dismissing renewable energy as ''a passing fad'' and ignoring potentially lucrative contracts.
According to the latest figures, almost (pounds) 90bn is expected to be invested in renewables globally between 2004 and 2007, with 44% of that forecast to be spent in Europe.
Blair Armstrong, who is project manager for power generation and renewable energy at Scottish Enterprise, said: ''By 2020, 40% of all energy is to come from renewable energy sources, and we are concerned that Scottish companies are going to miss an opportunity because many seem to see it as just a passing fad and not as a permanent thing.
''While the Danish are so far ahead in wind turbine design that it would be difficult for Scots companies to compete, there are all kinds of things they can supply - like towers for the turbines, switchgear and cabling. A lot of these contacts are just going abroad.''
Armstrong said that while more than 400 companies had attended a briefing session in Glasgow 18 months ago outlining opportunities in the renewable energy sector, very few had followed up on initial contacts. He warned: ''If companies don't get in on the act at this stage, we will have the same situation we had in the early days of the oil industry.''
Recent attempts by Scottish Enterprise to encourage firms to forge links with Danish company Vestas Celtic Wind Technology in Machrihanish had also been largely unsuccessful, according to Armstrong.
He said: ''I know Vestas are looking to source things like ladders and switchgear from local companies, the kind of things which they are already making for the oil industry, but have been having difficulties.
''I set up a meeting with the purchasing manager who spent a whole morning outlining what they were looking for but companies just didn't pursue it - which I think is just weird.''
Armstrong's comments come just a week after ScottishPower and Scottish & Southern Energy announced they had been given the green light for windfarms in Wigtownshire, Orkney Islands and Forth, in South Lanarkshire. ScottishPower is committed to spending (pounds) 800m on renewable energy over the next three to four years, and SSE (pounds) 200m.
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