General Electric has announced it will invest approximately £100m in offshore wind in the UK, including a new manufacturing facility.
The company is expecting to invest a total of 340m Euros across Europe with the investment expected to create 1,900 jobs. The decision comes on the back of the Government’s £60 million Budget pledge for ports servicing the burgeoning UK offshore sector.
GE UK managing director Magued Eldaief said: “We believe offshore wind has a bright future here in the UK and are delighted that the UK government yesterday committed to further developing this important sector. These GE investments will position us to help develop Europe’s vast, untapped offshore wind resources.”
RenewableUK, the country’s leading renewable energy trade association, today welcomed the announcement. “Towards the end of 2009 we have started seeing the first signs of a manufacturing rebirth around the UK’s offshore wind energy sector,” says Dr Gordon Edge, RenewableUK Director of Economics and Markets. “Now that all Round 3 sites have been taken up and the potential scale of offshore developments stands at over 40 gigawatts, there is a palpable sense of opportunity.
“Renewable UK has long maintained that strong and co-ordinated Government support for the UK to become the leading global centre of expertise for offshore wind energy can result in thriving manufacturing clusters and 57,000 jobs by 2020,” says Dr Edge.
“The fact that some of the world’s best known companies such as Mitsubishi and General Electric have now decided to invest in the UK and base their offshore operations here shows that such support pays dividends .”
Tim Brown
