£310m wind turbine plant powers up

The new £310m Siemens wind turbine blade manufacturing plant in Hull has produced its first batch of 75m long turbine blades. The facility will supply blades to wind projects such as Dong Energy’s Hornsea One wind farm off the coast of Yorkshire, and Scottish and Southern Energy’s (SSE) Beatrice wind farm located in the Moray Firth.

Bigger blades, more power

The facility’s blades are much longer than those on previous generations of wind turbines, and will be deployed on bigger, more powerful wind farms further off the coast.

Greg Clark, the business and energy secretary, visited the site for its official opening in December. He said: “In the coming years the new offshore wind projects that this factory will supply could generate enough clean electricity to power over 3 million homes and businesses – all with wind turbine blades produced by the dedicated and highly skilled Siemens workforce right here in Hull.

Boosting jobs, the economy and the environment

Mr Clark added: “Hull has established itself as an important manufacturing and engineering centre for this innovative and exciting new industry. This place is proof that manufacturing in this country has a glittering, hi-tech future.

Dr Doug Parr, Greenpeace chief scientist, said: “This is a fine example of the new jobs and investment that people across the UK can expect to see if the government backs offshore wind in its industrial strategy and emissions reductions plans.

“But for this to take off, companies need a strong signal from the government that Britain is open for business and is still an attractive investment environment for cutting-edge renewable technologies and infrastructure, such as offshore wind or solar and battery storage.”

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