RenewableUK, the trade and professional association for the wind, wave and tidal industries, has announced that 100 companies have now signed up to the first-ever Wind Energy Charter.
The Charter sets out the intentions of the industry to invest in the prosperity and energy security of the UK, to provide financial security for families by creating tens of thousands of long-term jobs, and to provide safe and affordable energy that will power the UK today and for generations to come.
RenewableUK’s Chief Executive, Maria McCaffery , said:
“The 100th signatory to our Wind Energy Charter is a sign that the industry is uniting behind the vision it represents: a future in which wind supplies not only a high percentage of our energy needs, but provides a significant boost to our economy.”
The 100th company to sign up, CWind, is a UK-based SME that specialises in providing services, from skilled people to innovative vessels, for the construction and maintenance of offshore wind farms.
CWind’s Chairman, Andy White , said:
“At CWind we are committed to working to the best standards in the UK with world-class companies. We believe that the offshore wind industry is a good thing for the UK in terms of jobs, investment and energy security. We have therefore established a boat share scheme, which enables professional mariners to enter the industry, and we can also supply bespoke training to skilled technicians looking to work offshore”.
Concluding, Ms McCaffery said:
“The wind industry has already generated over ten thousand jobs in the UK and billions of pounds of investment. We power millions of homes and displace millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions every year. The signatories to our Charter know that much more is possible – and we now look to the Government to provide in the upcoming Energy Bill the certainty that will allow this possibility to become a reality.”
RenewableUK is hosting the world’s first Global Offshore wind energy conference in June. 5,000 delegates from around the world, including China, South Korea, Japan, the USA and Canada will attend the event. The keynote speaker is the Energy Secretary Ed Davey. The UK’s leading position makes this event a focus for discussions not just for offshore wind technology, but also the wider decarbonisation agenda and the economic, as well as environmental, benefits associated with green growth
[mappress]
Offshore WIND staff, May 21, 2012; Image: statkraft