Siemens Gamesa Plans to Make Mega Turbine Blades in UK

Siemens Gamesa has submitted a planning application to double the size of their blade manufacturing facility at the Green Port Hull complex in northeastern England.

If plans go ahead, Siemens Gamesa will extend their facility on Alexandra Dock in the Port of Hull from 36,000 to 77,600 square metres, Hull City Council said.

The proposed development is reportedly dependent on the UK government support and Siemens Gamesa securing work for the next phase of development on the offshore wind farms.

It could see blades in excess of 100 metres being developed in Hull, such as the record-breaking B108 blades for the company’s most powerful wind turbine – the SG 14-222 DD.

The development could potentially create hundreds of new jobs at the facility.

”As part of the continued drive to reduce costs to consumers, future turbines will continue to grow in capacity and this means that changes may be required in our factory operations to create the space and capability to produce blades beyond 100 metres in length. We need to look at all options carefully,” Clark Macfarlane, CEO NE&ME & UK Managing Director, Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy Ltd, said.

”As part of the continued drive to reduce costs to consumers, future turbines will continue to grow in capacity and this means that changes may be required in our factory operations to create the space and capability to produce blades beyond 100 metres in length. We need to look at all options carefully. Siemens Gamesa will continue to discuss with local stakeholders and make more information available if and when the project progresses.”

When Siemens Gamesa opened its facility at Green Port Hull, it created more than 1,000 new jobs for Hull, 97 per cent of which were filled with talent from a 30-mile radius, and now contributes more than GBP 73 million GVA to the local economy, according to Hull City Council.

The turbine maker also attracted a raft of new businesses to the supply chain in the city, subsequently there has been GBP 3 billion in public and private sector investment in Hull.

”Investments by Siemens Gamesa have already created over a thousand jobs in this city and these new plans have the potential to create hundreds more skilled opportunities,” Councillor Daren Hale, Hull City Council’s Portfolio Holder for Economic Investment and Regeneration, said.

”This has great potential for Hull and we now need the Government to support Siemens Gamesa so they can continue to invest in the city and deliver more clean and cheaper energy to consumers.”