There is positive news on the edge of Britain’s shores. Companies such Gamesa, Mitsubushi and as well as Spanish wind Turbine company are tempting to invest in UK Manufacturing, after the approval of offshore wind farms subsidies by the government.
According to Lord Mandelson, Mitsubushi has taken the commitment to invest £100m for the construction of a wind-turbine research center. The center will be conducting research on constructing the biggest blades in the world. There will be around 200 new jobs created in the short-run and this might grow to another 1,500 position in the future. The government is also willing to grant around £30m to support the project.
Moreover, Gamesa has been negotiating with the government to construct a wind turbine factory in UK. A possible venture with German Firm Bard is envisaged.
This is significant for British manufacturing industry. The offshore fields can by year 2020 generate a total of 70,000 jobs.
The wind turbine manufacturing industry is perhaps seeing its re-birth. In the past, UK was a leading center in the field of onshore wind technology yet it failed to prosper. However, now the right conditions can be offered to make it a success. The hugest market for offshore wind energy is going to be built and this will support the industry to grow and commercialize.
It was in the 70s and 80s that Britain overlooked their possibility to become the leader in constructing wind power technology. Other parts of the world did much better as the government supported the growth of wind turbine manufacturing.
Nowadays, United State of America is most populated with wind turbines. Moreover, most of the technology in use there has been provided by US companies. The government supported these companies to grow and become effective to compete at an international level.
Going further, we can see that Germany has half of the top 10 wind turbine manufactures in the world. This is not of mere chance, Germany is beneath US the second largest provider of wind farms. It is a fact that if you have a large domestic market, international success comes thereon.
Factors for Success
There are mainly two factors required for renewable industry to take-off. The primordial prerequisite is government support in political and financial terms. The other determinant is local support (domestic market) to promote onshore and offshore wind farms.
The benefits derived from expanding in the field of renewable energy are unfolded. It creates employment through the re-birth of wind-turbine manufacturing. Secondly, it acts directly to tackle issues of climate change. However, it is mostly up to the government to make sure that the population is aware of the windfall gains experienced from the use of renewable technology such as wind turbines.
The British economy is finally seeing some green figures and facts, as investors are interested in the “world’s largest offshore wind energy project”.
Source: Guardian
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