Siemens Gamesa has celebrated production of its 2,000th blade in Hull.
The renewable energy giant, currently doubling its footprint in a £186 million investment on the Humber Bank, has hit the milestone six years on from the plant opening.
It comes during UK Wind Energy Week, as a promotional focus is put on the burgeoning green energy sector, on which the Humber leads. And the 666 turbines now supported from the Alexandra Dock base are seen as anything but the devil’s work when it comes to reaching Net Zero.
Read more: Project completions delight in stellar year for Humber offshore wind cluster
Andy Sykes, plant director, said: “We’re only six years young, and to achieve that milestone is fantastic, so it is a real proud moment for the site. By the turn of the year we will be making a blade in excess of 100m, 108m in length in total, and we’re really excited to move into our new home just next door.
“The next 2,000 I’m sure will come very, very quickly with the team that we have got here, so we are really excited for that, and how we can change the landscape, the footprint of energy in the UK and beyond.”
Wednesday also saw a new record of 19,936MW of electricity generated from wind in the UK, with late morning eclipsing the 19,916MW generated on May 25. It accounted for 52 per cent of the nation's need between 11.30am and noon. Over the course of the day onshore and offshore turbines covered half of UK demand.
One of Siemens Gamesa's biggest clients has been Orsted, with Race Bank, Hornsea One and Hornsea Two all now generating with the Greenport Hull blades. The 2,000th is destined for Vattenfall's Vesterhav offshore wind farm in Denmark, a 344MW project featuring 41 turbines. Siemens Gamesa won the order in 2018, with installation planned for next year, having been delayed.
In its celebrated time in Hull, several prominent politicians including new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and former Chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng have visited Siemens Gamesa, with the Queen having toured the plant in 2017. It played a prominent role in Hull's City of Culture status that year, with an early model placed in Queen Victoria Square in a logistical feat to match the engineering excellence.
David Williamson, operations manager at the plant had underlined the interest from Westminster when he spoke at The Waterline Summit recently, revealing the milestone as part of a celebration of achievements in the sector in 2022.
“People want to come, people want to be associated with success,” he said of the regular ministerial visits, adding that it applied to the entire Humber cluster, with regular delegations from emerging markets stretching from the US to Japan.
The initial £110 million investment created 1,000 jobs at peak, though the figure had ramped down a little between projects. The addition will see that figure hit 1,200, with new processes involved as installation of offshore wind accelerates to meet increased targets.
Those blades in the next 2,000 will feature carbon beams, in addition to the fibreglass and balsa wood. Mr Wilkinson said it was a “new skill set and trade for the industry”.
Read next:
Recruitment underway at Pensana as orders placed for infrastructure to build £150m chemical plant
Centrica partners with Hull-based HiiRoc for hydrogen fuel switch trial at Humber power plant
Robust results for Reckitt as broad-based growth highlighted by new CEO
UK 'must capture the carbon capture supply chain' to make race to Net Zero a true success story
All your Humber business news in one place - bookmark it now
