FIRMS across the North East will be helped to become the UK’s leading wind turbine maintenance experts.
Testing facilities at Blyth’s National Renewable Energy Centre will be made available to up to 80 North companies thanks to £2.5m of European investment.
The move will make Blyth and Tyneside the centre of the UK offshore wind industry, making it possible to replicate the success Aberdeen has enjoyed in the offshore oil sector.
Communities minister Baroness Hanham will visit Narec today as the European funding is handed over for blade-testing facilities.
Narec is already building the world’s largest wind turbine blade-testing factory, thanks to cash from development agency One North East, and now wants local firms to be able to do their bit to create a multi-billion pound supply chain.
Bosses there say the opportunities are growing all the time thanks to Government plans to build thousands of offshore wind turbines more than 100 miles out to sea at Dogger Bank.
While many smaller firms in the region may not be able to build the turbines or blades, they stand a chance of winning contracts for repair and maintenance work or in the construction supply chain.
To do that they will need to know the turbines inside out and the £2.5m handed over today will allow Narec to tailor its services for smaller and medium-sized firms in the region.
Speaking ahead of her visit, Lady Hanham said: “We believe that local communities know what’s best for driving economic growth in their area and it was inspiring to hear from entrepreneurs in Northumberland how they are using Government funding to create new business and jobs.
“These projects are opening up life-changing opportunities for the local community and will contribute to the regeneration of Northumberland by helping local businesses to realise their potential.”
Lesley Calder, head of Europe and skills at One North East, said: “These projects demonstrate how effective and far-reaching the benefits of European Regional Development Funding can be.
“The project is critical to supporting the development of the North East as a world class centre of excellence in the offshore wind agenda.
“It will also help place our ports at the centre of large company investment creating economic growth for blade manufacturing, development, operation and maintenance and installation services.
“It will also ensure that SMEs in the North East will be able to access the offshore wind supply chain through access to the facility and Narec’s wind sector expertise.”
Tony Quinn, director of major projects and assets at Narec, said: “Narec will give SMEs an understanding of the offshore wind market requirements and provide the opportunity to understand the specific challenges of the inspection of composite blades in the offshore environment.
“Up to 80 regional businesses could benefit from the business diversification and knowledge transfer opportunities, enabled by inspection capability associated with the new test facility.”
A new facility capable of testing blades up to 100m long is currently under construction in Blyth and companies will work with Narec to learn from the blade testing capabilities and expertise being developed in the region.
As part of the day-long tour Baroness Hanham will also visit Berwick WorkSpace, a business incubator to bring new jobs and commercial opportunities to the Northumberland coastal town and Putting Enterprise Into Place, a project aimed at creating an enterprise surge in Northumberland helping residents become self-employed or start their own business.
