Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Wind projects boost could bring 70,000 jobs

The Government yesterday announced moves aimed at creating up to 70,000 new jobs through a £60 million improvement to ports to boost offshore wind projects.

Chris Huhne, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, said: "We might be world leaders in offshore wind but we know there is still more to do. If we want the jobs, manufacturing and skills base for this exciting new industry to be here in the UK we need to make decisions that attract investment.

"We need world-class infrastructure to support our economic growth. So today we have made sure that even in the face of such pressure on public finances, we prioritise the areas that will help us dump the deficit."

The Prime Minister said the potential for Britain to lead the world in the offshore wind industry was "immense", especially as thousands of turbines would be needed in the next decade. "Manufacturing these needs large factories which have to be on the coast, yet neither the factories nor the large port sites exist and that, understandably, is putting off private investors,"

Business Secretary Vince Cable said: "It is very positive news that three major players in the offshore wind industry, GE, Siemens and Gamesa, have plans to come to the UK and invest in manufacturing. The Government's approach to growth and investment is the right one. The global market for low carbon goods and services is expected to rise to over GBP4 trillion by the middle of the next decade. We are already the sixth largest market for low carbon economic goods and services so we are well placed in this sector."

2 comments:

dougf said...

I'm not a fan of wind power by any stretch of the imagination but if the UK is going to be setting up these monstrously inefficient beasties, then the UK must be designing,building, and maintaining them in the UK.

Another good Coalition decision it appears.

Anonymous said...

70,000 jobs cracking

There's also the 10,000 jobs promised by the development of the Baglan Energy Park, how many jobs did that create, very few I suspect. Most of the jobs there are in-house employees of the ABM LHB, moved from Quarella Rd., Bridgend & from Swansea, I also understand that there are Council jobs relocated to the energy park too.

At least these 70,000 jobs are a realistic expectation of work created by developing wind power; we do need alternatives to buring carbon, the CO2 levels in the atmosphere are fast approaching 400 ppm, with the knock on effects for global warming, sea temperature rised, polar ice-cap melting rising sea levels, further flora & fauna extinctions, famine, drought, wars, disease.....need I go on?