Wind power to blow in 1,000 jobs
MORE than 1,000 jobs look set to be created in the British wind power industry, after two European companies said they would make new investments benefiting the sector.
Siemens said it would locate its £80m turbine plant in Hull on the north bank of the Humber, creating more than 700 positions. The German industrial giant had been undecided for some time over where to place its factory in the north of England, but it was swayed by the Government's decision this October to maintain £60m in funding for British port infrastructure
Doctor Gordon Edge, director of policy for RenewableUK, said: "This is great news not just for Hull, but for the wider Humber region and the rest of the UK. We estimate that with the establishment of a strong offshore wind manufacturing base, the industry can create 60,000 jobs in the UK by 2020."
Meanwhile, Spain's Gamesa Group pledged a £40m investment for an offshore engineering centre in Glasgow, creating 130 jobs.
It is also talking to Edinburgh's Forth Ports about a logistics and manufacturing centre in Dundee, which could add 170 positions.
Ignacio Gálan, chairman of Iberdrola, which has a 20pc stake in Gamesa and owns utility giant Scottish Power, said: "Gamesa's announcement today boosts Scotland's role as a centre for the expanding offshore wind industry in the UK and abroad.
"Scotland as a whole stands to benefit from the increasing employment opportunities and major investments that are being made in offshore wind power and other renewable technologies."
The Government is trying to persuade manufacturers to be ready for a renaissance in the renewables industry. It wants to produce a third of Britain's electricity from wind power by 2020, but the UK wind sector has suffered several setbacks in recent years.
The closure of the Vestas turbine plant on the Isle of Wight in 2009 left England without a domestic manufacturer and resulted in orders going abroad, a large number of them to Siemens' plants in Germany.
And earlier this month, the Scottish division of Skykon, a Danish wind-turbine maker, went into administration with the possible loss of 130 jobs.
Siemens said it would locate its £80m turbine plant in Hull on the north bank of the Humber, creating more than 700 positions. The German industrial giant had been undecided for some time over where to place its factory in the north of England, but it was swayed by the Government's decision this October to maintain £60m in funding for British port infrastructure
Doctor Gordon Edge, director of policy for RenewableUK, said: "This is great news not just for Hull, but for the wider Humber region and the rest of the UK. We estimate that with the establishment of a strong offshore wind manufacturing base, the industry can create 60,000 jobs in the UK by 2020."
Meanwhile, Spain's Gamesa Group pledged a £40m investment for an offshore engineering centre in Glasgow, creating 130 jobs.
It is also talking to Edinburgh's Forth Ports about a logistics and manufacturing centre in Dundee, which could add 170 positions.
Ignacio Gálan, chairman of Iberdrola, which has a 20pc stake in Gamesa and owns utility giant Scottish Power, said: "Gamesa's announcement today boosts Scotland's role as a centre for the expanding offshore wind industry in the UK and abroad.
"Scotland as a whole stands to benefit from the increasing employment opportunities and major investments that are being made in offshore wind power and other renewable technologies."
The Government is trying to persuade manufacturers to be ready for a renaissance in the renewables industry. It wants to produce a third of Britain's electricity from wind power by 2020, but the UK wind sector has suffered several setbacks in recent years.
The closure of the Vestas turbine plant on the Isle of Wight in 2009 left England without a domestic manufacturer and resulted in orders going abroad, a large number of them to Siemens' plants in Germany.
And earlier this month, the Scottish division of Skykon, a Danish wind-turbine maker, went into administration with the possible loss of 130 jobs.
From The Daily Telegraph, 21 January, 2011