Gamesa has located its Offshore Wind Technology Centre at Strathclyde Business Park in Bellshill, some eight miles from Glasgow city centre, and is already employing 40 engineers. The Spanish company hopes to be employing more than 100 staff by the end of this year, rising to 180 within three years. Work at the Technology Centre is dedicated to the design and development of the company's offshore wind platform G14X-6-7.0 MW.
The official opening took place at the close of the two-day Scottish Low Carbon Investment Conference last week, where more than 100 speakers, including Nobel Laureate and former American Vice-President Al Gore, and around 600 delegates gathered to discuss the opportunities and challenges of financing clean-tech innovations, including offshore renewable energy.
Part of drive toward low carbon economy
During his speech at the conference, Scotland’s First Minister, Alex Salmond, said his government had set a goal “to deliver sustainable economic growth and ensure Scotland continues to make a significant contribution to the global fight against damaging climate change”. He said that Gamesa's decision to develop its next generation turbine technology in Scotland “is a strong endorsement of our workforce and of the level of skills and expertise that we can offer” and that Scotland would continue to work to create “the optimum conditions for low carbon investment” to ensure the country remains well-placed to become “an international hub for low carbon expertise and a green energy powerhouse for Europe”.
Research agreement signed
The opening of the new Technology Centre came the same day Gamesa signed a strategic research partnership agreement with the University of Strathclyde for a research cluster in the Doctoral Training Centre of Wind Energy Systems, which Professor Jim McDonald, Principal of the university, said would “support this fast-growing industry and maximise the returns from investment and development”. He added that the partnership “enhances the impact of both our graduates and our research”.
Gamesa is working to launch two offshore platforms – G11X-5.0 MW and G14X-6/7.0 MW – and has announced that the UK will be the centre of its offshore wind business, with plans to invest over €150 million in the region by 2014. Gamesa plans to build a blade manufacturing plant in the United Kingdom at an as yet undisclosed location and is engaging in offshore logistics from a number of UK ports, around which it will locate its wind turbine O&M operations. The company estimates the construction and development of its offshore wind business in the United Kingdom will create over 1,000 direct jobs and another 800 indirect jobs at local suppliers.
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