Scottish Power has announced a £1 billion turbine contract with Siemens Gamesa for its East Anglia Two wind farm.
The 115 metres-long blades for the 64 turbines are set to be constructed at Siemens Gamesa’s facility in Hull, which employs 1,300 people.
The location has increased its headcount by 6000 over the last 12 months.
Energy secretary Ed Miliband commented: “This investment is a huge vote of confidence in the UK’s growing renewables sector and will power our clean energy future – supporting skilled jobs and green growth in Hull and beyond.”
Siemens Gamesa will deliver its SG 14-236 DD turbines which have a 236 meters rotor diameter and capacity of up to 15MW with Power Boost.
Darren Davidson, UK and Ireland vice president for Siemens Energy and Siemens Gamesa added: “As well as delivering the blades to power the UK’s energy transition, our factory in Hull is acting as a catalyst for economic growth and green jobs across the region.”
Siemens Gamesa is the fully owned wind business of Siemens Energy with more than 6,000 employees in the UK.
Situated almost 33km off the Suffolk coast, East Anglia TWO will have the capacity to generate up to 960MW of green electricity.
In September East Anglia Two won under the “offshore wind” category in the government’s Allocation Round 6.
Scottish Power agreed to 963.07MW for a strike price of £58.87 per MWh following its successful Contracts for Difference (CfD) bid.
Keith Anderson, CEO of ScottishPower, said: “Today is tangible proof of the importance of Britain’s Clean Power Mission – our East Anglia projects are delivering UK jobs, UK supply chain contracts and UK green energy.
“Getting more projects like East Anglia TWO off the blocks quicker will turbo-boost the UK’s supply chain, giving companies like Siemens Gamesa the confidence to invest in facilities like this blade factory in Hull.”
The news comes after ScottishPower announced it will be doubling its UK investments between 2024 and 2028 from £12 billion to £24 billion.
Anderson added: “Britain’s clean power targets are achievable but demanding. We’ve doubled our investment and are ready to play our part with Government as it gets barriers out the way to build more projects like this, alongside the electricity networks needed to ferry green, homegrown power across the country.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “Our mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower will fire up our industrial heartlands and break down barriers to growth in our hard-working towns and cities.
“It will strengthen our national security – protecting our children and grandchildren from the climate crisis, and the impact this will have on their future prosperity.”
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