Forth Ports – and the port of Leith – is the front runner for a new factory to assemble offshore wind components for a major Danish company.
Leith’s harbour is Scotland’s largest enclosed deep-water port able to handle the vast structures needed for offshore wind development.
Vestas has announced plans to establish a nacelle and hub factory in Scotland to meet growing demand for offshore wind in the UK and Europe.
The factory will require capital investment in excess of £200m, and the decision will be determined by how the company gets guarantees from Scotland’s politicians about future wind rounds.
The Scottish factory would produce nacelles and hubs for Vestas’s flagship offshore wind turbine, the V236-15MW. The company, based in Aarhus, maintains the world’s largest wind turbine fleet, spanning over 56,000 turbines around the world.
In effect, this means a Danish company will build a factory in the grounds of a Canadian-owned company in Scotland.
Forth Ports, who own Tilbury docks, has been positioning itself as the site for the offshore wind bonanza. The company’s major shareholder is the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments), one of Canada’s largest investment managers, looking after the pensions of the Canadian Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Reserve Force.
PSP Investments, based in Ottawa, has been a shareholder in Forth Ports since 2011, and has been a major shareholder since October 2018.
“The investment would create up to 500 skilled direct jobs, support further indirect jobs in the wider economy and underpin a supply chain critical to meeting the UK’s clean power targets and energy security,” say Vestas.
Scotland’s track record on wind energy components is chequered, with the closure of a major Campbeltown facility in September 2021. CS Wind, a South Korean company, closed the manufacturing site in deteriorating market conditions. The Scottish Government sank £37m into the failure of three fabrication yards in Fife and Isle of Lewis.
The issue was a lack of scale in production. The Business spoke with Vestas spokesperson Anders Riis who confirmed that a Scottish factory will need to meet a viable capacity of components, but said that an actual number of wind turbines is a private company matter.
The Vestas announcement follows record-breaking AR7 auction results in January 2026, a growing offshore wind order book for Vestas in the UK, and strategic discussions between the UK Government, the Scottish Government and Vestas on the next steps to develop and co-invest in the facility.
The final investment decision is conditional on securing sufficient UK-based orders in AR7 and AR8.
“Subject to the timing of those results, and the planning process, the facility could start production by 2029/2030. The plan also includes identifying opportunities for co-locating sub-suppliers of other major components,” said Vestas.
“The UK government has made a big statement with AR7, showcasing how wind energy creates a positive impact on energy security, sustainability, and affordability for end consumers. We welcome the UK and Scottish governments’ dedication to fostering a competitive offshore wind market and look forward to working together to progress our co-investment plans,” said Henrik Andersen, CEO Vestas.
“Establishing a nacelle and hub assembly factory in Scotland would create hundreds of local jobs and support further jobs across the wider supply chain, delivering long‑lasting economic benefits to the region.”
Deputy First Minister and Economy Secretary Kate Forbes, who is stepping down in a few weeks after the election, said: “Vestas’s proposal to develop a hub and nacelle factory in Scotland, with the potential to support hundreds of jobs, speaks to the huge potential of the Scottish offshore wind sector and our attractiveness as an investment destination.”
She said Scottish Ministers have engaged closely with Vestas since 2021.
“We look forward to continuing to work with the company and delivery partners to develop our offshore wind supply chain and deliver long-term economic benefits for our communities.”
A factory on the Leith waterfront would become Vestas fifth factory in Europe dedicated solely to the manufacturing of offshore wind turbine nacelles and blades.