Wind turbine firms could hang back as UK blows hot and cold

Matt Jukes, port director at Associated British Ports in Hull, has told the Yorkshire Post the nation faces a “critical” period as multinational firms make far-reaching decisions about whether to set up turbine factories along the east coast of Britain, potentially bringing hundreds of millions of pounds investment and creating thousands of new jobs.

A number of vast wind farms are planned off the coast of Yorkshire over the coming years, and the Yorkshire Post is campaigning for the Humber to become a hub of turbine manufacturing.

The Government insists it remains committed to developing offshore wind, and yesterday announced that a leading West Yorkshire engineering firm will be the first recipient of substantial Government funding to help develop a new generation of turbines.

David Brown Gear System in Huddersfield has been awarded a £1.2m grant to help develop its offshore wind turbine gearbox technology.

But this week several leading multinationals who have previously announced plans to set up turbine factories along the east coast expressed doubts over the Government’s long term commitment to offshore wind. One, US technology giant General Electric (GE), said its plans for a £100m factory are now “on hold”.

Ports chief Mr Jukes said he was pleased Siemens is still pushing ahead with its proposed £210m turbine factory at Hull, but warned that the Government must make every effort to ensure other manufacturers follow suit.

“These developments will only take place if there is some certainty on the investment case for the sector, and this requires cross-party support for the Government’s commitment to renewable energy,” he said.

“At a time which is critical for these investment decisions to be made, as a country we simply cannot afford to send the message to potential investors that we are not committed to offshore wind as part of our energy solution.”

His words came after the bosses of energy giants GE, Mitsubishi, Gamesa and SSE all expressed concern about growing anti-wind sentiment among MPs and parts of the national media.

All have previously announced plans for major turbine factories in as-yet unannounced locations along the east coast of Britain.

GE Energy’s managing director Magued Eldaief said: “Our investment is on hold until we have certainty and clarity regarding the policy environment we are in.

“One of the most important things for us is political certainty, so we can justify the investment case for a facility in the UK. But there are some headwinds which do not help, especially in terms of the subsidies discussion.”

More than 100 backbench Conservative MPs recently signed a letter to the Prime Minister asking for subsidies for onshore wind farms to be cut.

Selby and Ainsty MP Nigel Adams was one of five Tories who went to meet David Cameron last night to make the case for slashing support. But he made it clear he sees an important distinction between onshore and offshore wind.

“It’s a matter of efficiency,” he said. “If you put these things out at sea, the wind blows. If you put them on land, a lot of the time it just doesn’t.”

Energy Secretary Ed Davey has repeatedly reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to wind power.

He said it would be a “folly” to rule any renewable source out of the UK’s future energy mix.