ClimateWire: General Electric Co. has announced plans for an offshore wind turbine manufacturing plant in Britain, filling that country’s perceived need for a presence in the wind turbine industry.
The company will invest about $1.5 million in the plant, which will be built in a location to be determined later. It is part of a larger competition to develop port facilities for offshore wind.
Britain’s high sea winds make it an ideal place for wind energy, but the country’s last significant turbine manufacturing plant, operated by Vestas, closed. The government is hoping that the GE plant will help meet its commitments to cut greenhouse gases, as well as enhance the clean energy industry.
GE said the project will be part of a $454 million investment into Europe’s wind energy industry over the next decade. It also plans to build at sites in Norway, Sweden and Germany.
“We believe offshore wind has a bright future,” said GE’s U.K. managing director, Magued Eldaief. “These investments will position us to help develop Europe’s vast, untapped offshore wind resources” (Damian Carrington, London Guardian, March 25). – JP