Why was a £1.5bn Chinese plan to invest in Ardersier blocked?

An investment worth £1.5bn, creating 1,500 jobs in cutting-edge clean energy, and revitalising a disused former oil and gas port in the Highlands - it sounds too good to be true. And so it has turned out to be at Ardersier, where the UK government has turned down plans for a wind turbine factory from the Chinese company Ming Yang. Normally, investment and jobs on that scale would have politicians of all parties lining up to shake hands and sign deals. But when it comes to Chinese investment, things are a bit more complicated. A yard at Ardersier on the Moray Firth coast near Nairn was opened in the 1970s to build offshore platforms for what was the newly-established North Sea gas and oil industry. At its height the yard, employed about 4,500 people - but it closed in 2001 as demand dropped. For years the 450-acre (182ha) site lay vacant as the UK's largest brownfield port. There were plans, later abandoned, to stage a charity concert featuring Status Quo, Sugababes and McFly in 2010 and then proposals to develop the area for housing. Today it is being redeveloped and forms part of the Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport. The yard has been cleared of old infrastructure, ther

Mar 26, 2026 → Apr 2, 2026