Engineering giant Siemens is to spend £160m on the construction of new wind turbine facilities in Hull.
The wind turbine production and installation facilities will be spread across two sites: the previously announced Green Port Hull project construction, assembly and service facility; and a new rotor blade manufacturing facility in nearby Paull.
Associated British Ports (ABP) is investing a further £150m of its own in the Green Port Hull development.
The Green Port Hull project has been in development for four years. It will be the first manufacturing plant of its kind for Siemens’ next generation blade technology (IntegralBlade), designed for Siemens SWT-6.0-154 6MW wind turbine, whose rotor blades are each 75 metres long (see picture below).
Michael Suess, member of the managing board of Siemens AG and CEO of its Energy Sector, said: “Our decision to construct a production facility for offshore wind turbines in England is part of our global strategy: we invest in markets with reliable conditions that can ensure that factories can work to capacity. The British energy policy creates a favourable framework for the expansion of offshore wind energy. In particular, it recognizes the potential of offshore wind energy within the overall portfolio of energy production.”
Siemens and ABP will be submitting planning applications to Hull City Council and East Riding Council over the next few months for revisions to the existing proposed scheme at Alexandra Dock and for land in Paull in East Riding for the wind turbine blade factory.
Green Port Hull is planned to be operational by early 2016. Production at the blade factory is scheduled to begin in mid-2016.
