It has been announced that one of the UK’s largest offshore wind manufacturers is to more than double the size of its plant located on the Humber estuary.
This comes as the Government pledged to part-fund Siemens Gamesa’s £186m upgrade to its site at Hull’s Alexandra Dock, via a grant from its ‘Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Support Scheme’.
The project promises to bring up to 200 extra green sector jobs to the area and will help with the continued rollout and development of offshore wind farms around the country’s shores. In turn, this will support the UK’s 2050 ‘net zero’ carbon targets and could lead to increased production of clean renewable energy and even subsequent cheaper energy bills in the long run.
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Setting a positive example for other nations
The potential of the plant’s expansion was praised by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, and he alluded to it being a positive example for other nations to look towards with their sustainability. He said: "The Humber region embodies the UK's green industrial revolution, with new investment into developing the next generation of wind turbines set to create new jobs, export opportunities and clean power across the country.
"With less than 100 days to go until the climate summit Cop26, we need to see more countries embracing new technologies, building green industries and phasing out coal power for a sustainable future."
This was echoed by Clark MacFarlane, Siemens Gamesa's UK managing director, who said: "Our investment in our existing offshore blade factory, logistics, and harbour facilities in Hull has been a key driver of the growth of the UK's world-leading offshore wind industry."
This ‘growth’ is now set to become even more substantial as the new turbines will be used to supply and expand projects such as the new offshore wind ‘Hornsea Two’ development, located near the plant off the Yorkshire coast. When finished, the 1.4-gigawatt farm will be the world's largest offshore wind provider, powering upwards of 1.3 million homes with clean renewable energy.
Start going green today
The promise of increased production of renewables, additional jobs and cheaper energy bills is of course something very positive to look forward to, but it will be several years before the expansion fulfils its potential.
However, if you want to reduce your energy bills and go greener now, you can carry out an online energy comparison to find and switch to a new energy provider. All you need to do is use an energy comparison service and you’ll see the best energy deals in your area that feature renewables or which have a greener fuel mix.
Often you’ll find that many of the best energy suppliers around right now offer such tariffs, and invariably, you can save up to hundreds of pounds on your bills by switching.
