Wind venture hopes for North-east

Mar 30 2010 by Kelley Price, Evening Gazette

A MAJOR offshore wind production facility could be built in the region, creating hundreds of jobs.

German energy giant Siemens is looking at “several” sites in the North-east and along the east coast for its £80m facility, which could see 700 jobs created to meet future demand for offshore windpower.

Heavy industry and green sector chiefs on Teesside have welcomed the announcement, which comes just days after American multi- national General Electric (GE) announced it was looking for sites for a £100m UK wind turbine factory, which will create 1,900 jobs. Last month Mitsubishi Power Systems Europe also confirmed it was looking for potential bases in the region for its own windpower centre, which could create a further 1,500 jobs.

Last week Tees Valley port and regeneration bosses vowed to fight for their slice of a £60m fund - announced during the Budget - to upgrade port services in areas vying for contracts in the burgeoning wind sector.

Siemens’ UK chief executive, Andreas Goss, said the announcement, gave “confidence that the appropriate UK port infrastructure could be made available to support production plans”.

The company is part of the SMart Wind Consortium, which won a contract to develop four gigawatts of windfarms by 2020, as part of the Crown Estate’s Round Three offshore wind programme. SMart Wind will develop projects in the Hornsea zone, a 4,735 sq km area off the Yorkshire coast.

John Barton, projects director with Renew, the Wilton-based regional organisation developing renewable energy projects, said: “Tees Valley has already demonstrated its credentials, we are building up an infrastructure capable of supporting an offshore wind industry. It’s good to see our groundwork is starting to bear fruit.”