Written by Kunal Sawhney, CEO, Kalkine Group
Keeping up the pace of an all-inclusive economic recovery alongside supporting the employment ecosystem, the government of the United Kingdom has been supervising the key areas through which ailing businesses, as well as sectors, can be retraced to the pre-pandemic levels.
Now, the private sector has cumulatively allocated a multi-million investment to the tune of £180 million. The cash booster from the private sector has been dedicated to offshore wind manufacturing that is expected to create as many as 1,000 new employment opportunities across the North-East, including the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, Teesside area in North Yorkshire and Humber.
The investment is set to revitalise the industrial heartlands, paving the way for offshore wind manufacturers to build the next-generation wind turbines. Business & Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng announced the monetary injection on Wednesday, 7 July.
With the national economy heading towards a major breakthrough with the continuous improvement in the macroeconomic factors, such purposeful and futuristic goals can certainly help the country in rebuilding quickly and efficiently. All such measures are in line with the Prime Minister’s 10 Point Plan, the cash injection designated to build wind turbines on a larger scale can potentially assist the energy requirement of England in the upcoming years.
These steps can collectively constitute the larger objective of the green industrial revolution. Following the manufacturing of wind turbines that can help in quadrupling the offshore wind capacity to produce 40GW of energy from offshore wind by the year 2030. This could be enough energy to meet the power requirements of every home in the country.
The offshore wind manufacturers Smulders Projects UK and SeAH Wind Ltd will be entitled to receive a monetary grant under the funding from the Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Support scheme, topping the private investment made by each of them.
These two manufacturers can substantially boost offshore wind energy manufacturing base. Located on the Humber and at Wallsend, these corporations will be responsible for supplying essential wind turbine components to offshore wind farms across the UK, as well as to other enterprises involved in harnessing the wind energy around the world.
Assisting the timely delivery in the offshore wind energy supply chain, the Offshore Wind Manufacturing Support scheme is designed to provide funding to strategically important offshore wind energy components, including sea cables, turbine blades etc.
According to the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy, SeAH Wind Ltd will be receiving monetary support of £117 million at the Able Marine Energy Park on the Humber. The project is poised to create up to 750 direct green energy jobs by 2030.
While, on the other hand, a £70 million investment will be directed to Smulders Projects UK to design new equipment and build the necessary infrastructure, effectively enabling the manufacturing of offshore wind turbine transition pieces at its existing site in Wallsend, Newcastle. Smulders Projects will be responsible for generating and safeguarding up to 325 direct jobs.
This is a prospective attempt to help reduce the carbon footprint alongside supporting the extant 60,000 jobs in the industry as workers will be given the complete advantage of the booming offshore wind energy market in the UK and in overseas locations.
