SSE has made a deal to transfer its majority ownership in its Wind Towers Scotland (WTS) factory to South Korean firm CS Wind.

The energy company will transfer its 80% stake in the Machrihanish-based facility to the global manufacturer of wind farm tower structures.

The East Asian firm has announced plans to invest up to £14 million in Scotland, creating around 70 new jobs in Argyll.

WTS was established by SSE and HIE in 2011.

It is a specialist supplier of wind turbine infrastructure to European markets and also provides repair/maintenance services to the industry.

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Plans by CS Wind include extending the WTS plant's operations to include manufacturing towers for the offshore wind market, resulting in the first UK factory to commercially produce offshore wind towers.

SSE Director of Procurement Sandy Biggar said: "SSE has been a committed custodian of the Wind Towers factory for over five years and we've worked hard to help the business keep going in a challenging economy and become a success for rural Argyll. Although turbine tower manufacturing is not a core area of business for us as an energy company, we were nevertheless determined to demonstrate our strong support for home-grown Scottish wind farm manufacturing by seeking out an ownership stake in the Machrihanish factory.

"We're delighted a company with the experience and prestige of CS Wind has chosen to invest in the future of WTS."

Grant McPherson, Managing Director of WTS, added: "The team at Wind Towers is completely supportive of this development and already looking forward to the opportunities to come as CS Wind has stated it has big plans to build on the current success of the factory."

(LM)