I called the Fort WIlliam aluminium plant 'legacy' - just in the sense that it was already there for a good while. Have not followedprocess developments closely but it appears that - provided GFG Alliance as the owner survive current trials and tribulations intact - it's well on track as a test site for more sustainable smeltering technologies. It's of course also colocated to, owns and meets its energy needs through Scotland's fourth-largest hydro scheme, .which is systemically relevant to safeguard stability of the national grid.
If I was Gupta then I would diversify into sth like Lochaber AI plc, the energy is already there :)
The Lochaber plant might also benefit from a nuanced view. Nevermind any Grensill Gupta shenanigans the adjacent alloy wheel factory seems to be on course still? For Fort William that's a big construction project, for the local college it has important training and skills ramifications, and the wheels do seem to be pitched competitively into the marlet (allthough we will only really know th8s once production is in full swing).
So the regional spill-over effects are much more significant than the legacy plant, in a region that is depopulating. Could similar objectives be achieved with a different industrial strategy? Perhaps. But it remains a real challenge to grow any kind of economy in the highlands and islands. Worth bearing in mind that Lochaber as a whole only has a population of about 20k, half of whom in Fort William itself, which is a 4h drive from Glasgow and the largest settlement along the whole of the west cost from there.
I am sure locals will have a diverse view on it all, in particular the many retirees who have moved up for a quiet life. But where are the alternatives?
Just looked this up and can't see anything beyond a BBC article in November 2020 saying that the plan for the alloy wheel factory got shelved - do you know anything further?
As it was explained to me, the factory never made any sense because you'd need to transport products from the middle of the Highlands, along narrow roads, to supply a UK car industry concentrated in the Midlands and Sunderland, which was perfectly happy with its existing supply of alloys.
That doesn't mean I'm opposed to more proactive industrial strategies or supporting rural places like the Highlands. I just remember the conversation I had around this project and how bad an idea it all sounded (and this was before the Greensill Gupta stuff unravelled).
Yes, looks like they have repurposed this idea into a recycling centre. I guess that will probably only go ahead once the situation around GFG Alliance as a whole clarifies. But planning etc is in place for this now https://alvancebritishaluminium.com/the-future/
As an intersecting set of policy priorities one can see how it looked like a good idea at the time to the Scottish government to go all in. I guess my wider point is that something that does not make sense if looked at in isolation (saving the last British aluminium smelter) might actually be a worthwhile idea once looked at in those wider contexts. It might well be the case though that neither GFG nor ScotGov would have seen much promise in the whole thing without the Grensill magic that seemed to make the numbers work for all sides.
I called the Fort WIlliam aluminium plant 'legacy' - just in the sense that it was already there for a good while. Have not followedprocess developments closely but it appears that - provided GFG Alliance as the owner survive current trials and tribulations intact - it's well on track as a test site for more sustainable smeltering technologies. It's of course also colocated to, owns and meets its energy needs through Scotland's fourth-largest hydro scheme, .which is systemically relevant to safeguard stability of the national grid.
If I was Gupta then I would diversify into sth like Lochaber AI plc, the energy is already there :)
The Lochaber plant might also benefit from a nuanced view. Nevermind any Grensill Gupta shenanigans the adjacent alloy wheel factory seems to be on course still? For Fort William that's a big construction project, for the local college it has important training and skills ramifications, and the wheels do seem to be pitched competitively into the marlet (allthough we will only really know th8s once production is in full swing).
So the regional spill-over effects are much more significant than the legacy plant, in a region that is depopulating. Could similar objectives be achieved with a different industrial strategy? Perhaps. But it remains a real challenge to grow any kind of economy in the highlands and islands. Worth bearing in mind that Lochaber as a whole only has a population of about 20k, half of whom in Fort William itself, which is a 4h drive from Glasgow and the largest settlement along the whole of the west cost from there.
I am sure locals will have a diverse view on it all, in particular the many retirees who have moved up for a quiet life. But where are the alternatives?
Just looked this up and can't see anything beyond a BBC article in November 2020 saying that the plan for the alloy wheel factory got shelved - do you know anything further?
As it was explained to me, the factory never made any sense because you'd need to transport products from the middle of the Highlands, along narrow roads, to supply a UK car industry concentrated in the Midlands and Sunderland, which was perfectly happy with its existing supply of alloys.
That doesn't mean I'm opposed to more proactive industrial strategies or supporting rural places like the Highlands. I just remember the conversation I had around this project and how bad an idea it all sounded (and this was before the Greensill Gupta stuff unravelled).
Yes, looks like they have repurposed this idea into a recycling centre. I guess that will probably only go ahead once the situation around GFG Alliance as a whole clarifies. But planning etc is in place for this now https://alvancebritishaluminium.com/the-future/
As an intersecting set of policy priorities one can see how it looked like a good idea at the time to the Scottish government to go all in. I guess my wider point is that something that does not make sense if looked at in isolation (saving the last British aluminium smelter) might actually be a worthwhile idea once looked at in those wider contexts. It might well be the case though that neither GFG nor ScotGov would have seen much promise in the whole thing without the Grensill magic that seemed to make the numbers work for all sides.