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Matt Klaes's avatar

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 :)

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Matt Klaes's avatar

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?

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