World leading wind turbine centre to be built in North East as study highlights opportunities in green economy

Graeme Whitfield

15 May 2024 at 3:15 am·3-min read

Artist's impression of new ORE Catapult facility at Blyth -Credit:ORE Catapult

The world’s most advanced wind turbine testing facility is to be built in the North East, creating a number of jobs and putting the region at the front of the burgeoning renewables industry.

The development at Blyth, Northumberland, comes as part of an £86m Government investment in wind power that aims to create growth while slashing carbon emissions. The new Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult facility will test and certify 150m-long turbines blades, with the capacity to expand to test 180m-long blades in the future, meaning it will be able to verify the world’s longest blades.

The launch of the site - which will also test the latest drive-train technology, enabling manufacturers to develop and improve their products more quickly - comes as a separate study suggests that the North East is among the top locations in the UK to cash in on expected jobs and economic growth in the green economy.

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The report from IPPR North says that the UK has a competitive edge in many of the key products needed for a future green economy and highlights the Newcastle area as being among the top regions for both the wind manufacturing and the green transport sectors.

Zoe Billingham, director of IPPR North, said: “The UK faces three generational challenges: to deliver net zero, to level up and reinvigorate our economy, and to become more resilient to future shocks. These challenges have a common solution - seizing the growth opportunities of green manufacturing.

“Over the past 30 years we have slipped sharply behind our global competitors in the quantity and kinds of things we actually make. That’s bad for jobs, for living standards, for our security – and for our long-term economic strength as a country.

“Yet UK manufacturers in the North East still have a competitive edge in making some of the products vital for a net zero economy, and with the right government support we have the potential to be world-leading in many more. Our report has identified what we should target to develop in the near future; now we need government to adopt a long-term strategy that will lead us along this path.”

The report has been published a day after the Government announced £86.5m funding for the ORE Catapult to expand and upgrade its testing facilities in Blyth and enable the evolution of the next generation of wind turbines in the UK. The new facilities will allow faster product development of more efficient and powerful turbines, supporting the growth of UK supply chains. They will also create 30 new jobs in Blyth.

Science, Innovation and Research Minister Andrew Griffith, said: “Putting pioneering innovation at the heart of the UK’s transition to net zero is the key to protecting our environment in a way which continues to lift living standards. Our £86m funding will create highly skilled and highly paid new jobs that grow the North East and wider UK economies while pulling investment in by marking our country as a leader on technologies of the future and unashamedly open for business.

“At the same time, it strengthens the UK’s energy security in an uncertain world and helps us pivot towards the cleaner energy that can preserve our planet for generations to come.”

Andrew Jamieson, ORE Catapult chief executive, said: “This investment in truly world-leading capability will keep the UK at the forefront of offshore wind technology development. It will enable ORE Catapult to continue to deliver the most advanced research and development infrastructure and expertise to the offshore wind industry, capturing the jobs and economic growth from the transition to a Net Zero economy”.

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