Huge green jobs windfall for the Humber region

More than 1,000 jobs will be created and safeguarded across the North-East of England and the Humber in a UK offshore wind production boom thanks to more than £180 million of private investment.

On top of their own private investment, offshore wind manufacturers SeAH Wind Ltd and Smulders Projects UK will each receive grant funding out of the £160 million Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Support scheme, announced by the Prime Minister last year as part of his Ten Point Plan to build factories that will develop components for next generation wind turbines.

Located on the Humber and at Wallsend in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, the two manufacturers will substantially boost the UK’s offshore wind manufacturing base in our industrial heartlands, supplying essential components to offshore wind farms across the UK - as well as for export around the world.

The Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Support scheme is designed to support the delivery of manufacturing investment in the offshore wind supply chain. It provides grant funding for major investments in the manufacture of strategically important offshore wind components, from turbine blades to sea cables.

SeAH Wind Ltd will receive funding towards a new £117m monopile foundation factory at the Able Marine Energy Park on the Humber, creating up to 750 direct jobs by 2030.

Smulders Projects UK will receive funding towards a £70m investment in new equipment and infrastructure to enable the manufacture of offshore wind turbine transition pieces at their existing site in Wallsend, Newcastle, creating and safeguarding up to 325 direct jobs.

Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said:

“Wind is one of the UK’s greatest natural assets and we’re a world-leader in offshore wind energy. With the largest installed capacity of offshore wind in the world, we are determined to grow and nurture a strong, world-class manufacturing base so British businesses and our workforce can fully seize the economic benefits being a windy island nation brings.

“Today’s investments will not only put the wind in the sails of the UK’s industrial heartlands, creating and supporting thousands of good quality jobs, they will also benefit the whole of Britain as we work to onshore more manufacturers, attract inward investment and ramp up export opportunities.”

The investment announced today will be a huge boost to local economies in the North-East and Humber, with more than 1,000 direct jobs and a similar number of indirect jobs being created and safeguarded, helping to revitalise UK industrial heartlands and bring in vital investment opportunities.

Minister for Investment Gerry Grimstone said:

“The UK is well-established as having the largest offshore wind capacity of any country on the planet. These investments highlight how we are building a manufacturing base that reflects our position as a world leader in this key technology and the attractiveness of the UK's clean energy sector to international investors.

“UK workers will be building the next generation of wind turbines that will not only help us meet our own climate change commitments but will be exported and can power countries all over the globe in a cleaner greener future.”