Will Renewable Energy Secure the Future of UK Metals?

The Dalzell and Clydebridge factories will reopen. They will produce steel for the production of wind turbine towers.

Both factories were under threat of complete closure earlier this year. However, they were bought by Liberty House. At the moment, it has not yet been determined where the new production will be located. Liberty House last year bought Chepstow's Mabey Bridge to make renewable energy equipment. They allow for ground towers up to 56 m high and 5 m in diameter, but Liberty plans to upgrade production to be able to manufacture towers up to 110 m high and 10 m in diameter for the growing clean energy market.

Liberty House hopes to reach an agreement with former employees of institutions that were previously owned by Tata Steel Europe. Roy Rickhuss, secretary general of the unions, said the announcement of a bright future for the UK steel industry has not been fulfilled as hundreds of former employees of the company have not been hired for months. “We are now waiting for Liberty's assurance that metallurgists will receive fair wages for their work, and we expect the Scottish government to support the steel sector in the long term,” said Rickhuss.

The worst information comes from Redcar on Teeside, where the facilities are subject to liquidation by Sahaviriya Steel Industries (SSI), an international company based in Bangkok. British MP Tom Blenkinsop said the factories are selling some of the equipment, making it much more difficult to find a suitable buyer to restart. He also recalled that not all Tata Steel Europe plants in the UK managed to find new owners.