Two business giants in a combined investment means a local economy to boost and a population to feed.
Manufacturing company Siemens AG and its port partner Associated British Ports teamed to boost the economy of the northeast of England, as it intends to invest a total of £310 million or $511 million in wind turbine production and installation facilities.
The deal came to a conclusion after four years of intense negotiations among parties involved.
"Our decision to construct a production facility for offshore wind turbines in England is part of our global strategy: we invest in markets with reliable conditions that can ensure that factories can work to capacity. The British energy policy creates a favourable framework for the expansion of offshore wind energy. In particular, it recognizes the potential of offshore wind energy within the overall portfolio of energy production," Michael Suess, a CEO of the energy sector and a member of the managing board of Siemens AG, said in a statement.
Considered to be the biggest investment deals in decades for Yorkshire, Siemens is about to invest £160 million or €190m, while Associated British Ports is also set to give an additional £150 million.
Siemens, in particular, sees its investment in the Green Port Hull project construction, assembly and service facility as well as in a rotor-blade manufacturing facility in neighboring Paull, East Riding. Associated British Ports has its investments focused in the Green Port Hull development.
The plan is for Green Port Hull to be operational in early 2016. Blade factory production, meanwhile, plans to start in the middle of 2016. Siemens said that it sees full production levels reached from mid-2017 onward.
This investment even more makes the United Kingdom (UK) as the world leader in offshore wind industry, while making the Humber region closer to its goal of turning into a global manufacturing center for offshore turbines.
"This deal shows our strategy for offshore wind is working; bringing investment, green jobs and growth, and helping keep Britain the number one country in the world for offshore wind," the UK energy secretary Ed Davey also said in a statement.
In an attempt to enhance British manufacturing and cut energy bills, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne revealed in his budget last week a plan to halt tax on carbon emissions from electricity generation beginning April 2016.
The said investment would lead to the creation of up to 1,000 jobs, that is 550 jobs at the blade factory and 450 jobs at the Green Port Hull. Expect additional jobs in the construction period and indirect employment as well in the supply chain.
Earlier, Siemens plans to only invest £80 million that most likely would create up to 700 jobs only, so the revised plan is a sure boost to the offshore wind industry in Yorkshire, Northern England. Recall that the recession in Britain hit Yorkshire badly, with high-unemployment rate recorded.
"This is a massive vote of confidence in our long-term economic plan. This investment is going to create lots of new jobs and opportunities, meaning more financial security and peace of mind for families and a more resilient economy for our country," Prime Minister David Cameron said in a statement.
