Engineering news
Siemens is to invest £160 million in wind turbine production and installation facilities in the UK, creating 1,000 new jobs.
The company is to open two sites in Yorkshire, the previously announced Green Port Hull project, which will be an assembly and service facility, and a new rotor blade manufacturing facility in nearby Paull, in East Riding.
As well as the £160 million form Siemens, its port partner Associated British Ports (ABP) is spending a further £150 million in the Green Port Hull development.
The £310 million will create up to 1,000 jobs directly, with additional jobs during construction and indirectly in the supply chain.
Green Port Hull is scheduled to open at the start of 2016, and the rotor factory during the of 2016 with full prodiction to be reached a year later, said Siemens.
Siemens said the plant in Paull will be the first to produce blades for the firm's latest 6MW capcity wind turbines. Each rotor blade on the 6MW class is 75m long and when rotating covers an area the size of two-and-a-half football pitches.
Michael Suess, member of the managing board of Siemens and chief executive of its energy sector, said: "Our decision to construct a production facility for offshore wind turbines in England is part of our global strategy. We invest in markets with reliable conditions that can ensure that factories can work to capacity.
"The offshore wind market in Great Britain has high growth rates, with an even greater potential for the future. Wind power capacity has doubled here within two years, to roughly 10GW. By 2020, a capacity of 14GW is to be installed at sea alone to combine the country's environmental objectives with secure power supply. Projects for just over 40GW are currently in long-term planning."
RenewableUK chief executive Maria McCaffery said: "This is a major coup for the British wind industry - it's the green-collar jobs game-changer that we've been waiting for.
"This is just the start - where Siemens are leading, a cascade of others will follow - and we'll see very significant growth in the UK supply chain."
Dominic Brown, Head of regional business development organisation Grow:OffshoreWind, said: “This announcement is a fantastic boost for our offshore wind sector and further evidence that international companies are confident in our ability to deliver capacity and green energy.
“It sends out a global message that the UK is ready to lead the way in this field and will undoubtedly act as a catalyst for future investment opportunities…some of which are already at an advanced stage.