Jobs boost as Siemens and ABP unveil £310m Humber plans
SIEMENS has confirmed it is to build a major offshore wind manufacturing site in Yorkshire.
The engineering giant today announced it will invest £160m in the previously announced site at Green Port Hull in Alexandra Dock and in a new rotor blade manufacturing facility in nearby Paull. Associated British Ports (ABP) is investing a further £150m in the Green Port Hull development.
The £310m investment will create up to 1,000 jobs directly – 550 at the blade factory and 450 at Green Port Hull – with additional jobs during construction and indirectly in the supply chain.
Prime Minister David Cameron, who will visit East Yorkshire today to announce the deal, said: “This is a massive vote of confidence in our long-term economic plan. This investment is going to create lots of new jobs and opportunities, meaning more financial security and peace of mind for families and a more resilient economy for our country.”
The Green Port Hull project has been in the making for around four years and today marks years of speculation and uncertainty around the project. Siemens has described the much anticipated investment as a “landmark moment” for the UK offshore wind industry. Industry leaders say the deal could help it to become a ‘global energy city’.
Matthew Chinn, managing director of Siemens Energy UK & Ireland said: “Siemens is a leader in offshore wind and the investment demonstrates our ongoing commitment to UK manufacturing and confidence in the industry. The development of local manufacturing will provide a huge boost to the UK renewables industry and will help unlock other major projects and investments.”
Sam Pick, business development director of the Renewables Network, said: “This is the game-changer that the whole region has been working towards for a long time. Finally, we can put the politics behind us and get to work on establishing the Humber as a leading renewables hub. We have talked a lot about the creation of thousands of jobs in the past but now the hard work really begins.
“Local firms need to be even more determined, prepared and clear on their capabilities to grab this historic opportunity and not miss out on securing a role in the renewables supply chain. That means having the training, skills and capacity to ensure that nobody has to look elsewhere. We have to fully embrace the concept of a dynamic, forward-thinking, global energy city that others aspire to be. The momentum that got the Humber this far, in its rebirth as a centre for green energy, cannot stop now.”
James Cooper, ABP chief executive, said the announcement by Siemens underlines the critical role the Humber region plays in servicing the UK’s energy needs, both today and in the future.
Siemens and ABP will be submitting planning applications to Hull City Council and East Riding Council over the next few months for revisions to the existing proposed scheme at Alexandra Dock and for land in Paull in East Riding for the wind turbine blade factory.
Green Port Hull is planned to be operational in early 2016. The start of production at the blade factory is scheduled to be in the middle of 2016 with full production levels reached from mid-2017 onwards – in time for the City of Culture.
Leader of the Council, councillor Stephen Brady, said: “This is a huge milestone in our shared development aspirations for Hull and a great step forward towards one of the major projects in our City Plan, which aims to deliver substantial inward investment and create several thousand new jobs in the City over the next 10 years.
“The project is very complex and it has taken a great amount of time and effort by many parties to get to this stage. The team at Hull City Council have played a major role, working with Siemens and ABP to make the development a reality and confirming Hull as the cornerstone in establishing the Humber as the UK’s Energy Estuary.”
Councillor Steven Bayes, portfolio holder with responsibility for Green Port Hull, added: “With today’s announcement, combined with the UK City of Culture 2017, which alone should deliver a £60m boost to the local economy, and the recent step forward in the plans to electrify the rail connections to the City, we have the opportunities to transform the economy of Hull to the benefit of all of our residents. Hull is well and truly on the map now and for all the right reasons.”
Energy secretary, Ed Davey, said the deal is “excellent” news for the people of Hull and the Humber, the UK, the wind industry, and our energy security.
“We are attracting investment by backing enterprise with better infrastructure and lower taxes. As well as helping to keep the lights on and putting more than 1,000 people in work, this deal means we will help to keep consumer bills down as we invest in home-grown green energy and reduce our reliance on foreign imports. This deal shows our strategy for offshore wind is working; bringing investment, green jobs and growth, and helping keep Britain the number one country in the world for offshore wind,” he said.
