UK throws its weight behind offshore wind

Able Marine Energy Park, on the South Bank of the River Humber, will receive up to GB£75m government investment, and Teesworks Offshore Manufacturing Centre, on the River Tees, will benefit from up to GB£20m. Construction and infrastructure work will begin later this year. Together these new ports will have the capacity to house up to seven manufacturers.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “Our multi-million-pound investment in these historic coastal communities is a major step towards producing the clean, cheap energy we need to power our homes and economy without damaging the environment.”

Manufacturing factory deal

GE Renewable Energy business LM Wind Power will build a new offshore wind blade manufacturing factory at the Teesside port. Due to open and start production in 2023, the blades produced by GE Renewables will be supplied to the Dogger Bank Wind Farm, located off the North East coast. The Humber region is already home to six operational offshore wind farms including Hornsea One.

Once complete, the two ports will have the capacity to support the development of up to 9GW of energy offshore wind projects each year.

The creation of new ports and the development of new factories will support industry to reach its target of 60% of offshore wind farm content coming from the UK supply chain.

The ports will play a part in the government’s target to quadruple the UK’s offshore wind capacity to produce 40GW of energy from offshore wind by 2030 and help the UK reach zero emissions by 2050.

The government funding will be provided through the GB£160m investment to upgrade port infrastructure and support manufacturing announced by the Prime Minister in October 2020.

Both Teesside and Humberside have been named as freeports.