Brexit: Siemens puts wind power investments on hold - but £310m Hull plant and 1,000 jobs safe

The boss at Siemens has said that uncertainty caused by the vote for the UK to exit the EU means it has decided to place all wind power investment plans on hold.
The Siemens factory in Hull, and growth of offshore wind power, could transform Britain's energy policy.The Siemens factory in Hull, and growth of offshore wind power, could transform Britain's energy policy.
The Siemens factory in Hull, and growth of offshore wind power, could transform Britain's energy policy.

The firm’s boss Juergen Maier said that the £310m manufacturing hub in Hull would not be affected by the decision and that the 1,000 jobs planned for the site were safe. The factory should begin producing turbines in 2017.

However Mr Maier told the Guardian that will not be making new investments until the future of the UK’s relationship with Europe becomes clearer.

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This will include an existing early-stages blueprint to export offshore wind turbine machinery from Hull.

A spokeswoman told The Yorkshire Post that the firm had a full order book for the Hull site to service the domestic market and that plans for exportation were still at an early stage, and now clouded by the fact that we will no longer trade as an EU member from circa 2018 onwards.

“The existing commitment for 1,000 jobs and the plan to build the factory is still there.

“We want to be exporting from there in the future, to do that we need work with the Government to see what plans there are for new trade deals and tariffs.”

Siemens openly backed the Remain campaign, whereas the city of Hull voted heavily to exit the EU.