Department for Energy Security and Net Zero provided the following answer to your written parliamentary question (184257):
Question:
To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an estimate of the proportion of the cost of manufacturing new wind turbines for use in the UK that has been incurred in factories based in the UK in the last three years. (184257)
Tabled on: 10 May 2023
Answer:
Graham Stuart:
The Department does not hold this data.
The answer was submitted on 18 May 2023 at 16:40.
May 21, 2023
Question asked; Will you make an estimate?
Reply received: NO!
May 21, 2023
Where have you been this past few years. The government is actually discouraging all manufacturing in the UK as it upsets their net zero agenda.
Why do you think they’re putting the building of SMR s our to international tender.
God forbid that a British company should win such a prestigious project.
May 21, 2023
Yes, once again we see that the Tory government really doesn’t give a toss about the UK’s manufacturing industry. They are the enemies of British businesses. You have to wonder why the British government hates Britain so much. It is just a globalist quisling determined to sabotage our independence and our economy.
May 21, 2023
I totally agree with you Ian, any step to destroy British Industry the green trash we have in this country will take it. The green traitors would have been hanged by our forefathers!
May 21, 2023
Well who on earth does hold the data then?
The cat at number 10?
Does the data even exist?
Ah ha! Bet someone left it on a train or in a taxi!
May 21, 2023
As usual the Government has little idea of the effects of its policies. This is largely because the Tory Party has very few policies it believes in, or more acurately it has no policies that a majority of the Parliamentary party believe in. Instead it adopts policies that appear to be attactive to noisy publicity dominating groups. Because it doesn’t believe in them it does not bother to monitor their effects. Why would it? All it wants is to be able to spin its apparent track record into remaining in power through the next general election. Monitoring their effects would only provide ammunition to its opponents.
May 21, 2023
The short answer to your question is most of them
Siemens Gamesa operate the largest wind turbine blade factory in Europe at their Alexandra Dock, Humberside facility. They doubled the footprint in 2021 and increased capacity substantially. The Hull plant, which has manufactured more than 1,500 offshore wind turbine blades since it opened in 2016, currently employs about 1,000 people. Siemens manufacture the turbine generators in Germany but have plans to build an assembly plant on Humberside. Their Hull facility produced 90% of the turbine bades required for the Dogger Bank Array (A & B)
GRI Renewable Industries UK Ltd (GRI) have a huge wind turbine tower factory at Able Marine Energy Park, at Killinghome, North Lincolnshire producing nearly 80% of the wind turbine towers installed in the N Sea
Lastly the Danish company Ørsted (previously Dong Energy), employs more than 900 higly skilled people at the Able Marine Energy Park, manufacturing and assembling their turbine generators. They too have announced an enlargement of their facility.
May 21, 2023
If so strange that the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero is either incapable or unwilling, maybe both, of giving that as even a partial answer.
Perhaps this government simply doesn’t care at all about manufacturing or enterprise in the UK.
Perhaps this government simply believes all the BS whispered to them by the city barrow boys that they provide all the taxes.
But I doubt it is most of the cost which I suspect would be in the generators, mechanical, electrical and control systems rather than the blades.
May 21, 2023
GRI Renewables Industries is a Spanish company with manufacturing in Spain, China, Turkey, India, Brazil, Argentina and the US. Its project in the North East looks as though it will primarily be a holding facility for completed jackets and support towers, and is not yet apparently operational: it is not listed as open on their website. Their press announcement of the intended investment states “This site is expected to become the largest and most relevant marshalling port for offshore wind in the UK.” The €100m investment in “manufacturing” is hardly enough to cater for more than light assembly work and painting cathodic protection. It appears the project is still tied up in planning, with the Able Humber port still casting around for potential users of its space as a designated government subsidised hub.
May 21, 2023
Customer Service Excellence at its finest. Not
These people would not hod down any job in the real world.
Open up all the sludge cocks urgently the country’s future depends on it.
May 21, 2023
They know most of these things come from China, but refuse to admitt it. I do know that many yield stress bolts were made in the Black Country, but that company was sold for zillions to the Yanks.
May 21, 2023
Yet they don’t.
May 21, 2023
Mike, they know it but do not want to admit it !
I believe we are still giving China Foreign Aid, if so, why ?
May 21, 2023
Presumably so they can keep selling us their stuff. A bit like we paid the EU big money to run a deficit with them. These people are in charge – God help us all.
May 21, 2023
Surprise, surprise!!
May 21, 2023
A joke question and a joke answer because everyone knows they’re imported
Everyone knows all the parts come from China, then assembled in Europe, a couple of wings attached in UK and sited by none-UK firms and employees ….almost 100% imported
May 21, 2023
I suspect the way to get closer to the truth is to ask for figures on the total investment spend on new wind farms – surely a figure the department would wish to trumpet – and then to ask for figures on imports of wind turbines, components, jackets and offshore support services for installation, together with say the 5 largest countries of origin.
You might also have more success by approaching industry bodies such as RenewableUK. In their pitches for more subsidies they will doubtless assemble data on how poorly the UK businesses are doing, and be willing to share those.
May 21, 2023
The anwer is almost zero for the generators themselves, as for for solar panels, which makes us totally dependent upon China for our expanding renewabl energy.
We may make some wind turbine blades and organise the errection of the steel and concrete towers but I expect the steel and concrete, being very energy intensive, is imported as well, wherever possible to reduce our CO2 emissions.
Note that wind turbines are very proligate in their use of these energy intensive materials, steel and concrete. For each 1Kg of steel and concrete wind turbines produce 1 watt of unreliable, intermittent power. For each 1Kg of steel and concrete nuclear fission provides 1000 watts of reliable power and fossil fuels 2000 watts of reliable power.
May 21, 2023
Very good question. That information should be available. The answer is unacceptable