Shepherd Offshore has paid an undisclosed sum, estimated to be tens of millions of pounds, to buy a microchip factory in Scotland and develop it into a wind turbine blades manufacturing facility.

The £200m Fife plant, which was built in the 1990s, had been an empty factory for 13 years due to collapse of the global microchip market.

Previous Hyundai plans to invest £3bn in the plant were scrapped after the Asian economy depression, according to the Telegraph.

Motorola, the telecoms group, subsequently bought the factory and planned to create one of Europe’s biggest semiconductor plants, but also left the plant unused.

The 92,903 site will build on the existing work to turn the River Tyne into a world-leading hub for green industries.