The UK’s offshore wind industry received a considerable boost today with the news that GE plans to build an offshore wind turbine manufacturing plant here.
The plan will result in up to €110 million (£99 million) investment related to
GE’s offshore wind business in the UK and could ultimately deliver almost 2,000 jobs by 2020, the company says.
The news – which is tied to yesterday’s
Budget announcement of £60 million to help UK ports host offshore wind manufacturers – is being described by the Department of Energy and Climate Change as extremely good news for offshore wind.
Secretary of State Ed Miliband said: “We’re creating the right conditions and incentives to maximise the potential of our wind resource.
“Now we have another leading player entering the offshore wind market as a result. GE’s investment will create new jobs and help the
supply chain flourish, reinforcing the UK as the destination for offshore wind
investment.”
The UK project is part of GE’s €340 million (£305 million) expansion plan for the European offshore wind sector – also incorporating projects in Norway, Sweden and Germany – announced by the company today.
No gearbox in the new GE wind turbineAt the core of these plans is the development of GE’s next generation wind turbine, a four megawatt (MW) machine designed specifically for offshore deployment.
The company says it will be the largest wind turbine in its fleet and will incorporate advanced drive train and control
technologies gained through GE’s acquisition of ScanWind last year. The idea is to eliminate the need for gearboxes in the new turbines, which would significantly increase their reliability in the face of the harsh weather conditions experienced offshore.
“GE’s proven reliability on more than 13,500 land units coupled with ScanWind’s proven offshore gearless design enables us to provide our customers the reliable solutions necessary for the offshore wind industry,” said Victor Abate, vice president, renewable energy for GE Power & Water.
“These announcements lay the foundation for us to begin scaling our offshore business, technology and supply chain locally in Europe where we see the greatest growth opportunity.”
Developers of sites close to ports will be able to bid for a share of the £60 million of funds announced by the Chancellor yesterday in support of manufacturing for the offshore wind industry.
Government wants port bids to include local supply chain partnersThe Government said yesterday that it expects all bids to include contributions from local supply chain partners and that the competition will help the UK secure major operations in offshore wind manufacture and assembly, which will directly create hundreds of skilled jobs with thousands more in the supply chain.
GE's announcement follows the news last month that both Mitsubishi and Clipper Windpower will invest in large-scale UK offshore wind turbine manufacturing if the conditions are right.
Mitsubishi Power Systems Europe will first
invest £100 million in an offshore research and development project in Britain, potentially leading to a UK manufacturing
base and the creation of more than a 1000 'green' jobs. Clipper Windpower, meanwhile, is to go ahead and
build a factory to
manufacture the world's largest wind turbine
blade in the UK, potentially employing up to 500 people.
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