To further capitalise on the green energy market, Siemens Energy has announced plans to establish a new production plant for offshore wind turbines in the UK.
Siemens is still agreeing upon a final site for the plant, which will ultimately be based in the UK and would benefit from the development of British offshore projects. Already eleven offshore projects have been implemented by Siemens, with more than half located in the UK.
“With the new wind turbine production plant in the UK we’re pushing ahead with our strategy of investments in attractive growth markets for eco-friendly technology. In the foreseeable future the wind power market in the UK will be characterized by major offshore projects, and we’ll extend our market leadership with the new production plant” said Peter Löscher, President and CEO of Siemens AG.
The Memorandum of Understanding was co-signed by the Prime Minister, Peter Löscher, Business Secretary Peter Mandelson and Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Ed Miliband.
The development of the production plant further solidifies Siemens market gain in the green energy sector. Already 40 percent of UK wind power is produced through Siemens wind turbines. At the present time an order backlog of more than 3000 megawatts is documented.
Investments for the project are expected to reach over the $100m range and have the potential to create employment opportunities for up to 700 positions. The final building site will have to take into consideration harbor infrastructure. The east coast and northeast areas of the UK are under consideration. Siemens anticipates that 2020 further developments of offshore projects will enable them to produce up to 32 gigawatts which will provide a quarter of Britain’s power.
RenewableUK Chief Executive Maria McCaffery added that this decision “clearly demonstrates the long term potential of the UK’s offshore wind market… This announcement and the involvement from Siemens shows what can be achieved when industry and Government work together to create the right investment conditions, and gives us confidence that as a country we will deliver on our renewable energy targets.”
