Energy firms bring hopes of thousands of wind jobs

Two more multinational energy giants – French firm Alstom and Spain-based Gamesa – have confirmed they are actively considering sites along the east coast of Britain to base huge new factories for the manufacture of the 400ft offshore turbines that will form a key part of the country’s coming green energy revolution.

They join American giant General Electric, which is still considering location options after announcing plans for a £100m UK plant last year, and German technology firm Siemens, which has already pencilled in the port of Hull as the most likely destination for its own turbine manufacturing factory.

Their expansion is being driven by Government-led proposals for a massive expansion of the UK’s offshore wind capability, including the construction of two of the world’s largest wind farms off the Yorkshire and north-east coast at Hornsea and Dogger Bank.

With thousands of new turbines needed as Britain moves to a low carbon economy, manufacturers want to site new factories as close to the offshore sites as possible to keep costs down.

Regional planners believe if a cluster of manufacturers can be convinced they should build around the Humber ports, up to 10,000 new jobs could potentially be created, both directly and along the supply chain.

The Yorkshire Post launched its Powering Yorkshire’s Future campaign last year, calling on the Government, planners and private enterprise to do all they can to bring the new investment to this region.

The recent announcements by Alstom and Gamesa further up the stakes as Yorkshire battles with other ports which are equally keen to revive their own manufacturing bases.

A spokeswoman for Alstom said: “Alstom has plans to establish an industrial cluster in the UK, and is in discussion with a number of ports along the north-east coast. This will support the manufacturing of Alstom’s six megawatt offshore wind turbine, with design features optimised for North Sea conditions.”

Yorkshire’s main rivals for the new investment appear to be Newcastle and in Scotland, where firms including Clipper and Mitsubishi have announced plans for turbine manufacturing plants.

Alstom recently announced it was buying 40 per cent of Scottish tidal energy firm AWS Ocean Energy.

However, it also has interests in Yorkshire, following proposals for a partnership with Drax power station at Selby for a ‘clean coal’ carbon capture and storage plant there.

Able UK, which owns land on the south bank of the River Humber at the Port of Immingham which it hopes to transform into a green energy park, said negotiations are continuing with several large multinational turbine manufacturers but no announcement could be made at this stage.

“We are actively engaged with the sector,” said Able director Neil Etherington. ”We’re talking to companies with varying degrees of success – some of it is very positive. We believe the Humber has the most to offer of any of the possible sites.”

Gamesa confirmed in its annual report that the UK will be the centre of its offshore wind business, with plans to invest around £140m by 2014.

The report states it will assess opportunities “in a number of UK ports” over the coming months.

Meanwhile an announcement confirming Siemens’ investment in the port of Hull is now thought to be imminent, following the signing of a memorandum of understanding earlier this year.

The German technology firm– the world’s leading manufacturer of offshore turbines – is planning an £80m plant employing 700.

It means the port is in line for around £20m of Government investment via its port infrastructure upgrade programme as Associated British Ports (ABP) builds a new deep water berth capable of handling the vast new turbines.

Matt Jukes, ABP’s port director, said signing off the deal with Siemens was currently the top priority but that he expected a cluster of supply chain firms to spring up nearby to support it.

“Things are progressing with Siemens exactly as we had hoped,” he said. “We had been speaking to some of these other multinational firms last year, prior to the announcement with Siemens – but that is now our only priority.”

Two long-awaited Government announcements earlier this week, on electricity market reform and a so-called ‘renewables roadmap’ outlining the UK’s green energy policy over the next decade, were designed to show its commitment to the offshore wind industry.

It is thought several multinationals were waiting for Ministers to state their intentions before they finally confirmed plans.