New offshore wind turbine manufacturing facilities for the North East UK

Two new facilities, on the Humber and on Teesside, are to be supported to build the next generation of offshore wind turbines, says the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS). Able Marine Energy Park, on the South Bank of the River Humber, will receive up to £75mn and the Teesworks Offshore Manufacturing Centre, on the River Tees, will benefit from up to £20mn. Construction will begin later this year to upgrade the ports with new infrastructure.

Together they will have the capacity to house up to seven manufacturers to support the development of next-generation offshore wind projects, directly creating around 3,000 new jobs each, says BEIS.

Due to open and start production in 2023, the GE factory will supply its Haliade-X turbines to the Dogger Bank wind farm, located off the North East coast. When completed in 2026, Dogger Bank will be the largest offshore wind farm in the UK and capable of powering up to six million homes.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: ‘During the Industrial Revolution over 200 years ago, wind powered the sails of ships from the Humber and Teesside trading goods around the world. Now the Humber and Teesside will put the wind in the sails of our new green industrial revolution.’

The order of Haliade-X offshore wind turbines from Dogger Bank Wind Farm was a decisive factor in GE Renewable Energy’s decision to green light the new manufacturing plant, says the company. The move followed the designation of Teesside as one of the UK’s newest freeports. LM Wind Power, a GE Renewable Energy business, will set up and operate the new facility at Teesworks. The factory will start producing the 107 m blades in 2023.

The announcements will create new opportunities for the Humber and Teesside to lead the world in new industrial sectors and low-carbon technologies, significantly growing the UK’s offshore wind manufacturing supply chain, adds BEIS.