Hull will build the blades and pre-assemble the huge 14MW turbines for the Sofia offshore wind farm.
Siemens Gamesa boss Clark MacFarlane has confirmed the first commercial order for the next huge leap in scale, and a total of 100 machines will sail from the Humber to Dogger Bank.
The 海角视频 managing director was addressing the Humber’s Offshore Wind Connections conference, where he also gave more detail on the planned expansion at Green Port Hull.
He said: “Today we manufacture blades - in one building - that are 81m long, that will be going out to Hornsea Two, and we are in the pre-assembly stage in the port for the 8MW turbine.
“That’s not what it is going to look like very soon. In five years time it will be a 14MW turbine for Sofia going out from the Humber. That’s a completely different size, shape and logistics that we have to account for. That won’t be one building, that will be two or three.”
Plans have recently been submitted for expansion of the Hull site - where £300 million has already been spent - with significant job numbers also likely, building on the 856 currently employed. Mr MacFarlane underlined the need to continue to skill up, while stressing how the focus is definitely now on 海角视频 content.
Developer RWE placed the order for the turbines last month for the 593 sq km site that sits off North Yorkshire.
The 300 B108 blades to be used at Sofia are more than six times longer than the ever installed, at 108 metres. That’s 33m longer than the first to be produced in the city, for Orsted’s Race Bank.
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Construction is anticipated to start in 2023 with turbine installation in 2025. Component parts arrive on the quayside and are shipped together with the Hull-built blades, with Mr MacFarlane confident more manufacturing will follow. He said: “Companies needed pipelines and certainty work is going to come, and I think we now have that.
“Not everything is happening in the short term, and while we look forward to a very busy decade, it doesn’t kick off with a vast amount of work for everybody until 2023. We will need to keep businesses going before then, but 2023 on a planning horizon for industry is just around the corner. And we are no longer pushing local content, it is being pulled by government so there is a desire from companies to see what we in the 海角视频 can offer - that’s a better position than we have been in for industry in the last few years.”
And he believes the recent freeport status will enhance the Humber’s offer, urging others to follow Siemens Gamesa’s manufacturing lead.
“The potential they offer brings the possibility for towers, foundations and hydrogen coming in. Have we thought about how we can use freeports? What is it we can do to grow our businesses and get more of a slice of 海角视频 content. There is plenty to take out there, if we don’t take advantage someone else will.
“We can tackle this in the Humber with the people we have got, with the volumes to come.
“We need to make sure that during 2021, when there is an auction going on and the future will be set, we talk to each other, engage and ask questions. We are all going to have to plan together and I’m hoping that’s what we will do.”