11/03/2021 | Supply chain

GE’s Teesside turbine blade factory marks start of next generation of UK offshore wind manufacturing

11 March 2021 - RenewableUK press release


Responding to the announcement by GE Renewable Energy that it will open a new offshore wind turbine blade manufacturing plant on Teesside, RenewableUK’s Chief Executive Hugh McNeal said:


“GE Renewable Energy’s new blade turbine manufacturing plant will transform a former steelworks site on Teesside into a high-tech clean energy powerhouse, creating thousands of highly-skilled jobs in our UK supply chain. The 2020s will be a decade of delivery and today’s announcement marks the start of the next generation of offshore wind manufacturing in the UK.


“This plant will produce state-of-the-art turbine blades not only for the world’s biggest offshore wind farm, Dogger Bank, but also for export to fast-growing international markets, capitalising on our global lead in this technology. Industry is working closely with Government to maintain the UK’s pole position and our globally competitive supply chain.


“Today’s news builds on the Chancellor’s landmark announcements last week to support offshore wind manufacturing hubs on Teesside and Humberside, and I’m confident we’ll see more new investment coming into the UK supply chain in the months and years ahead”.


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Notes


RenewableUK’s members are building our future energy system, powered by clean electricity. We bring them together to deliver that future faster; a future which is better for industry, billpayers, and the environment. We support over 400 member companies to ensure increasing amounts of renewable electricity are deployed across the UK and to access export markets all over the world. Our members are business leaders, technology innovators, and expert thinkers from right across industry. RenewableUK revised events programme is available here.


GE Renewable Energy announced in September 2020 that it will supply 190 of the world’s most powerful turbines, the 13 megawatt (MW) Haliade-X turbines, to the world’s largest offshore wind project, SSE Renewables and Equinor’s Dogger Bank Offshore Wind Farm (3.6GW) 130 km off the coast of East Yorkshire.
Each blade is 107m long and the turbines are 248 metres tall.
One rotation of each turbine can power a home for more than 2 days.
Overall Dogger Bank Offshore Wind Farm will power 6 million UK homes.


GE Renewable Energy will also establish a base at Able Seaton Port in Hartlepool to assemble the turbines before they are transported into the North Sea for installation at Dogger Bank A and B, the first two phases of the project (95 turbines each).
This will lead to the creation of 120 skilled jobs at the port during construction. Turbine installation is due to start in 2023.
A further 120 skilled jobs to be based in the Port of Tyne for Operation and Maintenance of the wind turbines by GE’s service team.
More details on Dogger Bank Wind Farm and GE Renewable Energy’s Haliade-Xturbines are available hereand here.


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