Investment in offshore wind manufacturing will create jobs for North

£180m worth of private sector investment into offshore wind is expected to create more than 1,000 new jobs.

On top of their own private investment, offshore wind manufacturers SeAH Wind Ltd and Smulders Projects UK will each receive grant funding from the £160m Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Support scheme.

The scheme was announced by the Prime Minister last year as part of his Ten Point Plan to build factories to develop the next generation of wind turbines.

Business and energy secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, said: ‘Wind is one of the UK’s greatest natural assets and we’re a world leader in offshore wind energy. With the largest installed capacity of offshore wind in the world, we are determined to grow and nurture a strong, world-class manufacturing base so British businesses and our workforce can fully seize the economic benefits being a windy island nation brings.

‘Today’s investments will not only put the wind in the sails of the UK’s industrial heartlands, creating and supporting thousands of good quality jobs, they will also benefit the whole of Britain as we work to onshore more manufacturers, attract inward investment and ramp-up export opportunities.’

Located on the Humber and at Wallsend in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, the manufacturers will supply components to offshore wind farms across the UK, and for export around the world.

SeAH Wind Ltd plans on developing a £117m monopile foundation factory at the Able Marine Energy Park on the Humber, creating up to 750 direct jobs by 2030.

Smulders Projects UK are also investing £70m in new equipment and infrastructure to enable them to manufacture offshore wind turbine transition pieces at their existing site in Wallsend, creating and safeguarding up to 325 direct jobs.

Minister of investment, Gerry Grimstone, said: ‘The UK is well-established as having the largest offshore wind capacity of any country on the planet. These investments highlight how we are building a manufacturing base that reflects our position as a world leader in this key technology and the attractiveness of the UK’s clean energy sector to international investors.

‘UK workers will be building the next generation of wind turbines that will not only help us meet our own climate change commitments but will be exported and can power countries all over the globe in a cleaner greener future.’

In related news, the new Natural Capital Challenge Fund will encourage the growth of the green sector in Devon. 

Photo by Nicholas Doherty