Heavily blitzed in the Second World War and hard-hit by the decline of the fishing and shipping industries, Humberside is one of the UK’s most deprived areas. But with the continued development of Round 2 and 3 offshore wind farm projects, this could change in the future.
Construction of a new operations base for the Round 2 Humber Gateway – a 73 turbine project that will power around 170,000 homes – is already underway in the former Grimsby Docks. This is just one of a raft of renewables projects in the pipeline for the next 30 years, which could bring up to 10,000 new jobs to the region. 1,200 jobs linked to the offshore wind sector have already been created in the Grimsby area with local businesses such as hotels also seeing the benefits.
Other proposed offshore wind farms in the area include the gigantic 9GW Dogger Bank project off the East Yorkshire coast and two 4GW capacity wind farms at Hornsea and Norfolk Bank. Onshore opportunities in Hull include a Siemens wind turbine factory, set to be built at the redeveloped Alexandra Dock, and a new bioethanol plant. The Humber is also home to two tidal energy testing sites.
However, there are doubts about whether all the planned projects will go ahead. Siemens has already raised concerns about Government targets for greenhouse gas reduction – and locals are worried the company will change its mind about the Hull-based factory. Other issues include the city’s overstretched transport infrastructure, which makes travelling from the docks to the Humber Bridge very difficult at busy times.
So whilst the opportunities are potentially boundless, it’s clear that Government attention to and investment in the Humberside area is essential if the renewables industry is to reach its full potential here.
Wilding says: ‘We can’t let Humberside become yet another missed opportunity for UK industry! The Government needs to get its act together and take whatever steps are necessary to make sure renewable energy developers keep investing in the region.’
Source: The Guardian
