LM Wind Power will build a new manufacturing plant for wind-turbine blades in Teesside, northeast England, to start production in 2023. It is “an ideal location to serve the vast offshore wind potential of the North Sea,” according to GE Renewable Energy, the holding company of LM Wind Power.
The primary output will be 107-meter long blades for GE’s Haliade-X offshore wind turbines, the 14- / 13- / 12-MW units that stand 260-m high, with a 220-meter rotor. According to GE, the Hailade-X is “the most powerful offshore wind turbine in operation today.”
According to GE Renewable Energy, the Teesside plant will employ 750.
Jerôme Pécresse, president and CEO of GE Renewable Energy, stated: “We are delighted to announce such a commitment for the renewable energy industry, we believe it will help develop a strong talent pool through the hiring and more importantly training of future colleagues. The U.K.’s target to commission 40 GW of offshore wind by 2030 is ambitious and requires that we invest in local production capabilities to accompany this effort.”
LM Wind Power is a specialty manufacturer of wind-turbine blades that GE acquired for $1.65 billion in 2017. It has other manufacturing plants in Denmark, Brazil, Canada, China, France, India, Poland, Spain, and the U.S. (Grand Forks, N.D., and Little Rock, Ark.)
