Vestas Picks U.K. for Offshore Turbine Plant

---

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Wind turbine manufacturer, Vestas Wind Systems (OTC:VWDRY) (Randers, Denmark) is aiming to build an offshore turbine manufacturing plant in the U.K. following the signing of an agreement for 70 hectares of land at the Port of Sheerness in Kent.

The company said that if orders for its new 7-megawatt (MW) offshore turbine, the V164-7.0 MW, take off in the U.K., it will build the fully integrated offshore wind turbine manufacturing and installation facility, creating up to 2,000 jobs. The company recognises that the U.K. represents the largest wind market, with the latest Round 3 projects alone expected to account for more than 25,000 MW of electricity. For additional information, see January 4, 2010, article - U.K. To Award £100 Billion in Offshore Wind Contracts.

The company joins a growing list of turbine makers cherrypicking suitable locations for turbine manufacturing facilities in the country. In January, German engineering giant Siemens AG (NYSE:SI) (Munich, Germany) selected the Port of Hull in England for its proposed offshore turbine manufacturing and export facility. The site was chosen due to its proximity to large offshore wind projects, including Dogger Bank and Hornsea. For additional information, see January 24, 2011, article - Siemens Chooses Port of Hull for Wind Turbine Plant.

Vestas has made clear that it will invest the money in building the plant as long as the government provides long-term political and regulatory certainty.

"We have shown our intentions to make major investments and subsequent job creation, but it is evident that we don't just jump head-first into an investment of this size," explained Anders Søe-Jensen, president of Vestas Offshore. "We need to make sure it makes sense business-wise. Before our customers can provide us with the needed order pipeline, they need to see stability in the market and a long-term political and regulatory certainty that ensures their business case. Making that happen lies in the hands of the policy makers, so we are looking forward to seeing the U.K. government providing the best possible terms for the offshore wind industry to truly take off and the potential jobs becoming a reality."

Vestas operated the U.K.'s only large wind turbine manufacturing facility in Newport on the Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England, until the summer of 2009, when it closed the operation. At the time, the company blamed decreasing demand for wind turbines in northern Europe and argued that U.K. planning delays and local opposition made building windfarms in the country too slow. For additional information, see July 27, 2009, article - Vestas to Shut U.K.'s Only Wind Turbine Manufacturing Plant.

Other turbine manufacturers planning U.K. turbine plants include General Electric (NYSE:GE) (Fairfield, Connecticut), renewable energy company Gamesa Corporation S.A. (MCE:GAM) (Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain) and Mitsubishi Power Systems Europe Limited (London, England), a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Limited (TYO:7011) (Tokyo, Japan). For related news, see October 28, 2010, article - U.K. Leading Destination for Offshore Turbine Manufacturers.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. IIR's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.