News / Shetland Windpower goes bust
A RAPIDLY growing renewable energy company set up in Shetland almost 20 years ago has gone into receivership less than 12 months after being sold in a multi million pound takeover.
Shetland Windpower Ltd is the second victim of the collapse of Proven Energy, the Scottish wind turbine manufacturer which went bust two months ago.
On Friday last week the company, set up by Shetland engineer Michael Anderson in 1993, called in KPMG as receivers to wind up the business.
The move has left many of its customers, including one lifeboat station, schools and community halls, wondering where to turn if they experience mechanical problems with their machines.
Mr Anderson was unavailable for comment on Monday and KPMG had yet to respond to requests for information by 4pm.
Shetland Windpower had installed more than 250 turbines, including around 50 in Shetland, by the time they were bought by Glasgow-based investment firm Nevis Capital in December 2010, in what was described as a multi million pound deal.
The company boasted at the time that they had been doubling their business every year since 2007 and the future looked rosy with the government’s generous feed in tariffs encouraging more people to buy wind turbines.
However earlier this year they signed an exclusivity agreement to supply only Proven wind turbines, having previously installed a variety of manufacturers’ products. For example, two years ago they installed a Westwing turbine for Aith lifeboat station in Shetland, which is currently out of action waiting for a replacement part.
The deal with Proven turned out to be a fatal one, after the Ayshire-based firm was forced into receivership in September as a result of a defect in its £50,000 P35-2 model.
The following month Kinross turbine installer Icon Energy went into voluntary liquidation as a direct result of the collapse, having lost out to Irish company Kingspan in a bid to take over Proven.
Shetland Windpower is understood to have employed around five people in Shetland and more at their base in Glasgow, where most of their business was conducted, all of whom will now be out of a job.
Patrick Ross Smith, Shetland development manager with Community Energy Scotland, said: “We will be following developments very closely to see how we can support community projects in Shetland going forward.”
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