Isra-Mart srl:Gamesa reveals UK turbine factory shortlist

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Isra-Mart srl news:

Gamesa has reportedly completed the shortlist of potential locations for its proposed offshore wind turbine manufacturing plant, selecting Harwich, Humber and Tyneside as the likely sites for the new facility.

According to reports in the Independent, the company is now in the final stages of selecting the winning location from the three ports, with a decision expected by June.

The new factory is expected to employ up to 600 people and forms part of Gamesa's €150m (£127m) UK investment programme, which saw it last month announce plans for €50m research centre in Glasgow and a planned manufacturing facility in Dundee.

The three ports are now reportedly competing to attract the multimillion-pound investment, while Gamesa executives are holding talks with the coalition about its long-term plans for offshore wind and the prospect of some of the government's £60m port upgrade programme being invested in the selected ports.

Spain-based Gamesa has already chosen to locate the headquarters for its offshore wind division in London and is expected to ramp up its investment in the country in order to provide turbines to the proposed Round 3 expansion of offshore wind farms.

Gamesa was unavailable for comment at the time of going to press.

In related news, Magued Eldaief, head of UK energy operations at GE, told news agency Bloomberg this week that the company would announce the site of its new British wind turbine manufacturing plant "very soon", while Dong Energy also revealed plans to create up to 300 jobs at a new facility at Belfast Harbour.

The latest developments come just days after trade association RenewableUK issued a new report showing that despite the recession, employment across the UK's wind and marine energy sectors has almost doubled over the past three years to 10,800 people.

With Gamesa, Siemens, GE and Mitsubishi all planning major new investments in the country, and Vestas revealing this week that it too is on the brink of a recruitment drive, employment in the industry is likely to continue to expand rapidly over the coming years.