Offshore wind industry major Siemens Gamesa said on August 9 it will expand its successful offshore blade factory in Hull, England by 41,600 square meters, more than doubling the size of the manufacturing facilities.
The expansion represents an investment of £186 million and is planned to be completed in 2023, Siemens Gamesa said.
Manufacturing of next-generation offshore wind turbine blades will be enabled at the largest offshore wind manufacturing facility in the UK. It will grow to 77,600 square meters and add 200 additional direct jobs to the approximately 1,000 person-workforce already in place.
“Since our offshore blade factory opened in Hull in 2016, Siemens Gamesa has proudly served as the catalyst for the powerful growth the area has seen. The rapid development of the offshore wind industry – and continued, strong, long-term support provided by the UK government for offshore wind – has enabled us to power ahead with confidence when making these plans. We’re committed to unlocking the potential of wind energy around the globe, with solutions from Hull playing a vital role,” Siemens Gamesa Offshore Business Unit CEO Marc Becker said. “Siemens Gamesa continues to be the leading supplier of offshore wind turbine technology in the world’s leading offshore wind market, the UK. Through safe, efficient, and reliable manufacturing, over 1,500 blades from Hull have been delivered to customers worldwide. We’re very much looking forward to adding to this capacity in the future,” he added.
Manufacturing of other offshore wind turbine blade types already in the Siemens Gamesa Hull factory pipeline will continue while the expansion is constructed. In total, Siemens Gamesa has an offshore wind power order backlog of €9.4 billion as announced during its Q3 FY21 results presentation on July 30, 2021.
Siemens Gamesa UK Managing Director Clark MacFarlane noted the UK Government has provided strong and consistent support for offshore wind, having committed to a further 30 GW installed this decade, three times the current installed capacity. This underlines the commitment the UK Government has made since the Offshore Sector Deal was unveiled in early 2019.
