Rejuvenating UK Manufacturing

Good news for North West England this week: the former Cammel Laird shipyards in Birkenhead and the port of Mostyn on the Dee estuary both benefited from investment worth £50million and £5million, respectively. The funds come from providing supporting port facilities to the Gwynt y Mor offshore wind development off the Noth Wales coast.

Gwynt y Mor is currently being developed by RWE npower, and will provide 576MW of wind energy upon completion.

Mostyn is set to provide port facilities for the operations and maintenance of Gwynt y Mor, whilst Cammel Laird, has been given a smaller sum to provide additional supporting port facilities in the loading of monopile foundations. Crucially, this contract should give Cammel Laird a platform to pitch for construction work for offshore sub stations for future developments off the West coast.

As a base for O&M for the offshore wind industry, Mostyn makes much sense, as it had already provided a construction base for the 90MW Rhyl Flats and 60Mw North Hoyle projects. It additionally provides loading facilities for A380 ‘super jumbo’ wings from the nearby Airbus factory to be placed on ships bound for Toulouse.

In an area of the UK that has suffered since the decline of traditional manufacturing and mining industries over the last 40 years, the development can only be good news. With ever more severe economic figures, particularly for construction and a Tory conference where the PM could give no hint of an improving situation, this is perhaps a small reason to be hopeful.

Firstly it proves that the UK can start to make use of some transferrable skills and rejuvenate a decrepit infrastructure that can support Round 3 and beyond.

Secondly, it adds an impetus to ensure that Government spend in renewables increasingly goes to UK businesses, not those that are based overseas.

At the RenewableUK offshore conference in June, Cammel Laird was touting its potential as an ideal future manufacturing and servicing facility for UK Offshore. Let us hope that this is the first in many future agreements.

Good news for North West England this week: the former Cammel Laird shipyards in Birkenhead and the port of Mostyn on the Dee estuary both benefited from investment worth £50million and £5million, respectively. The funds come from providing supporting port facilities to the Gwynt y Mor offshore wind development off the Noth Wales coast.

Gwynt y Mor is currently being developed by RWE npower, and will provide 576MW of wind energy upon completion.

Mostyn is set to provide port facilities for the operations and maintenance of Gwynt y Mor, whilst Cammel Laird, has been given a smaller sum to provide additional supporting port facilities in the loading of monopile foundations. Crucially, this contract should give Cammel Laird a platform to pitch for construction work for offshore sub stations for future developments off the West coast.

As a base for O&M for the offshore wind industry, Mostyn makes much sense, as it had already provided a construction base for the 90MW Rhyl Flats and 60Mw North Hoyle projects. It additionally provides loading facilities for A380 ‘super jumbo’ wings from the nearby Airbus factory to be placed on ships bound for Toulouse.

In an area of the UK that has suffered since the decline of traditional manufacturing and mining industries over the last 40 years, the development can only be good news. With ever more severe economic figures, particularly for construction and a Tory conference where the PM could give no hint of an improving situation, this is perhaps a small reason to be hopeful.

Firstly it proves that the UK can start to make use of some transferrable skills and rejuvenate a decrepit infrastructure that can support Round 3 and beyond.

Secondly, it adds an impetus to ensure that Government spend in renewables increasingly goes to UK businesses, not those that are based overseas.

At the RenewableUK offshore conference in June, Cammel Laird was touting its potential as an ideal future manufacturing and servicing facility for UK Offshore. Let us hope that this is the first in many future agreements.

Good news for North West England this week: the former Cammel Laird shipyards in Birkenhead and the port of Mostyn on the Dee estuary both benefited from investment worth £50million and £5million, respectively. The funds come from providing supporting port facilities to the Gwynt y Mor offshore wind development off the Noth Wales coast.

Gwynt y Mor is currently being developed by RWE npower, and will provide 576MW of wind energy upon completion.

Mostyn is set to provide port facilities for the operations and maintenance of Gwynt y Mor, whilst Cammel Laird, has been given a smaller sum to provide additional supporting port facilities in the loading of monopile foundations. Crucially, this contract should give Cammel Laird a platform to pitch for construction work for offshore sub stations for future developments off the West coast.

As a base for O&M for the offshore wind industry, Mostyn makes much sense, as it had already provided a construction base for the 90MW Rhyl Flats and 60Mw North Hoyle projects. It additionally provides loading facilities for A380 ‘super jumbo’ wings from the nearby Airbus factory to be placed on ships bound for Toulouse.

In an area of the UK that has suffered since the decline of traditional manufacturing and mining industries over the last 40 years, the development can only be good news. With ever more severe economic figures, particularly for construction and a Tory conference where the PM could give no hint of an improving situation, this is perhaps a small reason to be hopeful.

Firstly it proves that the UK can start to make use of some transferrable skills and rejuvenate a decrepit infrastructure that can support Round 3 and beyond.

Secondly, it adds an impetus to ensure that Government spend in renewables increasingly goes to UK businesses, not those that are based overseas.

At the RenewableUK offshore conference in June, Cammel Laird was touting its potential as an ideal future manufacturing and servicing facility for UK Offshore. Let us hope that this is the first in many future agreements.