Hundreds of jobs coming to North East after £20m boost for wind turbine plant

Thousands of jobs could be coming to the North East after a plant to offshore wind turbines on Teesside received major Government backing.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced £20m for the Teesside, along with £75m for similar projects near Hull, which he said would “put the wind in the sails” of a green industrial revolution by building the next generation of offshore wind turbines.

It is hoped that the plans – which were first announced in last week’s Budget – could help create up to 6,000 jobs as a result of the developments on the two rivers, the Government said.

Offshore wind manufacturer GE Renewable Energy is the first to invest in Teesside and will build a wind blade factory at the site, creating 750 jobs. The blades will be supplied to the Dogger Bank wind farm off the North East coast – set to be the largest offshore wind farm in the UK.

Funding will be provided from the £160m investment to upgrade port infrastructure and support manufacturing announced by Mr Johnson last year and mentioned again during last week’s Budget.

He said: “Teesside will continue to drive forward our green industrial revolution as we capitalise on new opportunities to produce clean energy through a brand new offshore wind port on the River Tees. It will not only create thousands of jobs and harness the skills and expertise of this great industrial heartland, but also boost investment into the area as we build back greener.”

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Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng added: “The offshore wind sector is a major British industrial success story, providing cheap, green electricity while supporting thousands of good-quality jobs.

“While the UK has the largest installed capacity of offshore wind in the world, we are determined to ensure we are fully capturing the economic benefits in this country.

“To ensure our businesses, supply chain and high-skilled workforce can fully share in the sector’s success, today’s investment in the Humber region and Teesside will put the UK in pole position to land new offshore wind investors.

“In the process it will ramp up our domestic manufacturing base and create thousands of good jobs in our industrial heartlands.”

The announcement has been welcomed by environmental charity Greenpeace, and offshore sector group NOF.

George Rafferty, chief executive of NOF, said: “This is a clear signal of what the Freeport strategy can do for the UK energy sector and the potential it will bring for the local supply chain that is well-placed through its experience and expertise to support GE Renewable Energy in its new home on Teesside.

“NOF has worked closely with GE Renewable Energy for a number of years to help them build its supply chain and network in the North East region, which is so strategically important to the offshore wind sector, and we’re delighted they have chosen to locate its new facility here.

“It will be able to tap into the Energi Coast North East England’s offshore wind supply chain cluster that is already highly-active in the global offshore wind sector and help generate further job creation and investment across the North East.”