Mitsubishi, the Japanese engineering firm, has been reported in confirming that it is considering several sites in the UK to build ‘a giant factory to test the largest wind turbines in the world.’
According to Sky News, the international manufacturers is looking to build an offshore wind test site off the coast near Blyth in north east England, which will test rotar blades up to 100m long. The Government will fund the development and follow Mitsubishi’s plans to build a prototype turbine in the next three years and begin full-scale production within a four year period.
The project is set to create at least 200 skilled jobs for the UK. Government grants of up to £30m have been pledged by Business Secretary Lord Mandelson.
The Secretary commented that the deal is a “real opportunity” for the UK to become global figures in the renewable energy fields.
With 2020 E.U. requisites looming, the energy available to Britain via wind turbine generation is proving to be a valuable asset. According to the British Wind and Energy Association (BWEA), the estimated contribution from both on and offshore wind is set to produce a combined figure that will satisfy almost half of the UK’s domestic electricity requirement by 2020.
Climate Change Secretary Ed Miliband, said: “We have the wind resource and we now have an industry that is really starting to grow.
“This is possible because of our domestic market and our commitment to supporting companies that locate here. It is another step to turning Britain into a leading green manufacturing centre.”
The announcement has received praise from national green energy custodians the Carbon Trust. Many eco-commentators are also drawing lines between recent developments involving the Government’s new electric car incentives. What remains as a clear fallback for many of the UK’s plans to meet 2020 requisites, is the absence of a genuinely ‘clean’ electricity supplier.
Without the presence of not just a ‘green’ alternative but a power network rooted in renewable energy, many of Britain’s carbon solutions have fallen short of the longevity forecasted at their inception. One of the leading criticisms for the UK’s adoption of electric cars has been the fact that they will be as bad as petrol engines, as both rely on a fuel-based power supply.
But as Mitsubishi’s chief executive Akio Fukui signed a memorandum of understanding with Lord Mandelson earlier this month, it seems that a truely green alternative is on the way for Britain’s rather grey power problem.
Source: Sky News
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