Wind turbine blade factory to open in Teesside, creating 750 jobs

The plant will be dedicated to the production of 107m offshore wind turbine blades, a key component of GE’s Haliade-X, one of the most powerful offshore wind turbines in operation today.

Terms of the construction and financing of the new plant are in advanced stages of negotiation between the interested parties.

GE Renewable Energy estimates this new plant, set to open and start production in 2023, could create up to 750 direct renewable energy jobs and up to 1,500 indirect jobs in the area to support the entire value chain needed to operate this facility.

This announcement and commitment support the UK government’s plan to develop jobs, infrastructure, and supply chains to reach its goal to commission 40GW of offshore wind power by 2030 and become a global leader in green energy.

As part of that plan, Teesside has just been designated as one of the UK’s newest freeports. The new blade manufacturing plant will be located on Teesworks, an ideal location to serve the vast offshore wind potential of the North Sea.

Olivier Fontan, CEO of LM Wind Power said: “We are pleased to develop our manufacturing footprint in Teesside with this new plant dedicated to the production of offshore wind blades and to continue developing our overall footprint in the UK. Beside the building and infrastructure, we are looking forward to bringing our expertise in setting up such plants to Teesside, from the onboarding and training new employees who will have everything to learn about our technology to establishing an entire supply chain around our plant. This is the result of a strong partnership with UK Government, the port of Teesside and its municipality. We are looking forward to continuing to grow these relationships and contribute to the economy of the area.”

The Dogger Bank Offshore Wind Farm, which is located between 125km and 290km off the east coast of Yorkshire, would benefit directly from the blades produced at this new plant.

The three phases of the Dogger Bank Wind Farm, powered by GE’s Haliade-X offshore wind turbine, will have a combined installed generation capacity of 3.6GW, enough to power six million UK homes. When complete in 2026, it will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm.

LM Wind Power www.lmwindpower.com