Grant funding to the tune of £266M from the UK government and private sector investment is to be used by Siemens Gamesa to double the size of its blade manufacturing facility in England and by GRI Renewable Industries for a new tower fabrication facility
Siemens Gamesa will invest a total of £186M to expand its blade manufacturing site. GRI Renewable Industries – the second company confirmed to build a facility at Able Marine Energy Park – has been awarded £78M for its offshore wind turbine tower factory.
Siemens Gamesa will expand its successful offshore blade factory in Hull, England by 41,600m2, more than doubling the size of the manufacturing facilities there. The new facility, for which plans were first announced earlier this year, is due to be completed in 2023.
The announcement follows £180M of private sector investment from offshore wind manufacturers in the Humber and in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and another £95M from government to create two new offshore wind ports on the Humber and on Teesside earlier this year.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, “The Humber region embodies the UK’s green industrial revolution, with new investment into developing the next generation of wind turbines set to create new jobs, export opportunities and clean power across the country.
“With less than a hundred days to go until the climate summit COP26, we need to see more countries embracing new technologies, building green industries and phasing out coal power for a sustainable future.”
Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said, “With its close proximity to some of the world’s largest offshore wind farms and strong skills base, the Humber region is vitally important for the growth of the British offshore wind industry and is at the heart of our green recovery.
“Our announcement, backed by private investment will give a boost to this important industrial heartland, creating and supporting thousands of good quality jobs across the region while ensuring it is on the frontline of developing the next generation of offshore wind turbines.”
The Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Support scheme was announced by the Prime Minister in 2020 as part of his 10-point plan to build factories that will develop components for next0generation wind turbines. It is designed to support the delivery of manufacturing investment in the offshore wind supply chain. It provides grant funding for major investments in the manufacture of strategically important offshore wind components, from turbine blades to subsea cables.
Siemens Gamesa Offshore Business chief executive Marc Becker said, “Since our offshore blade factory opened in Hull in 2016, Siemens Gamesa has served as the catalyst for the powerful growth the area has seen.
The rapid development of the offshore wind industry – and continued, strong, long-term support provided by the UK government for offshore wind – has enabled us to power ahead with confidence when making these plans. We’re committed to unlocking the potential of wind energy around the globe, with solutions from Hull playing a vital role.”
Manufacturing of other offshore wind turbine blade types already in the Siemens Gamesa Hull factory pipeline will continue while the expansion is constructed. In total, Siemens Gamesa has an offshore wind power order backlog of €9.4Bn, as announced during its Q3 FY21 results presentation on 30 July 2021.
Siemens Gamesa UK managing director Clarke MacFarlane said, “The UK government has provided strong and consistent support for offshore wind, having committed to a further 30 GW installed this decade, three times the current installed capacity. This underlines the commitment the UK government has made since the Offshore Sector Deal was unveiled in early 2019.”
GRI chairman and chief executive Jon Riberas said, “We are proud to participate in this major project to power British homes and communities with wind energy. This project will create a worldwide leader in the offshore sector in a market that is increasingly demanding and constantly evolving.”
The investments follows an announcement made in early July 2021 when the UK government announced more than £180M of private sector investment for offshore wind manufacturers SeAH Wind Ltd and Smulders Projects UK who will build facilities located on the Humber and at Wallsend in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, creating and safeguarding more than 1,000 jobs.
In March 2021, the government also announced up to £95M investment to establish two new ports on the Humber and on Teesside to enable manufacturers to build the next generation of offshore wind projects.
Together the new ports will have the capacity to house up to seven manufacturers to support the development of the next-generation offshore wind projects, substantially boosting the UK’s offshore wind manufacturing base while directly creating around 3,000 new jobs each.
In addition, US energy giant GE Renewable Energy recently announced an investment in a wind turbine blade manufacturing plant, the first investment on Teesside. The manufacturing facility will directly create around 750 jobs in the area to supply the Dogger Bank windfarm project.
© 2023 Riviera Maritime Media Ltd.