RenewableUK, the trade and professional body for the wind, wave & tidal industry, is today highlighting the string of recent announcements of growth in the renewable energy supply chain in the run-up to the world’s first global offshore wind conference.
These announcements include:
The granting of planning permission for Green Port Hull, an enormous development on the banks of the Humber that will manufacture wind turbines for large-scale offshore wind farms. The Siemens factory at the heart of the project is expected to employ 800 people, with a further 10,000 jobs generated in the wider industry.
Plans by Offshore Group Newcastle to build a new factory to manufacture a prototype steel-jacketed foundation for offshore wind turbines. The new facility is expected to create up to 1,000 jobs in the short term, with a further 5,000 to follow.
The award of a contract to construct a demonstration-scale tidal energy device in the Mull of Kintyre to a Glasgow-based firm, Steel Engineering. The firm expects to take on 60 new recruits over the next few years.
RenewableUK’s Director of Offshore Renewables, Nick Medic , said:
“It’s great to see so many exciting developments in the offshore sector as we approach the world’s first global conference dedicated to offshore wind. The potential of this industry is tremendous. In the UK alone, we anticipate that it could generate up to 70,000 jobs by 2020 – a prediction that is being borne out by these announcements.
“Our vision is for Britain to become to the global offshore wind market what it once was to the Industrial Revolution: the wind power workshop of the world, a centre of expertise that attracts business from around the globe.
“Our Global Offshore Wind Conference, the first of its kind, provides an international forum to develop this vision. We want the UK to retain its pole position as the place to do business in offshore wind, and in London in June, this process will accelerate.”
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Offshore WIND staff, May 16, 2012; Image: statkraft