In the aftermath of the decision made by Spanish company Gamesa not to award an 800-job contract to the Tees Valley, but to assign a £125m worth deal for construction of wind turbines to Leith near Edinburgh, Damien Wilson, the assistant director of regeneration and planning at Hartlepool Borough Council remains optimistic.
“We always knew it was a 50-50 fight, but we were always hopeful we could land it. The good news is, that out of the 26 ports shortlisted, we were the top one in England. And there is more than one fish in the sea. There are other investors looking to locate on the east coast and we are perfectly lined up to take advantage of that investment. It is not the end of the game,” Wilson pointed out.
The optimistic tone was prevalent in the statement of George Rafferty, the chief executive of NOF Energy, which forms part of Energi Coast (the campaign group for the North East renewable energy sector which also includes JDR Cables, Heerema and Tata Steel),who said that:
“The region has an excellent infrastructure and a closely integrated supply chain that would have added real value to Gamesa’s offshore renewables operations. I hope other international companies recognise the commitment the North-East has made to offshore renewables when they are looking at suitable locations for their operations as this region is very much open for business in this sector.”
When it comes to other infrastructural potential of Hartlepool, it should be noted that the town holds 33 per cent share of the Tees Valley Enterprise Zone as of recently, thus 15,000 new jobs could be created.
In addition, another 55 new work places could result from setting up a waste processing plant, envisaged to process to 50,000 tonnes of waste on annual basis, a project devised by J&B Recycling.
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Offshore WIND staff, March 28, 2012