In a release posted on its website this week, Vestas announced that it will “repurpose” its Isle of Wight factory in the UK to manufacture onshore blades.
The company noted in its release that, since 2002, its facilities on the Isle of Wight “have played an integral role in the manufacture of turbine blades for wind projects across the world”. It highlighted that, at present, its Isle of Wight factory focuses on manufacturing blades for the V174 offshore turbine but added that demand for this product is coming to an end and said constraints at the site mean it is not suitable for the next generation of offshore blades.
“However, following an agreement in principle with the UK government, Vestas intends to repurpose the factory to build onshore blades, mainly to support the UK market,” the company stated in the release, adding that it “greatly appreciates that the current UK government has leaned forward to enable this change”.
“This transition to onshore blades will see the facility help meet increased demand for onshore wind energy in the country, which has been boosted following the government’s decision to remove the de facto onshore wind ban in England and with its focus on building domestic supply chains,” Vestas went on to note.
The company pointed out in its release that current manufacturing operations at the Isle of Wight employ around 600 people across manufacturing, logistics, and support functions. It said the agreement in principle with the UK government “will sustain approximately 300 jobs in manufacturing activities”.
The company added in the release that it “will offer a significant number of opportunities in other parts of our business”. It said these opportunities will include roles supporting UK operations and other Vestas factories.
“Our technology activities which employ approximately 140 people on the island are not impacted by this decision and will remain a company center of excellence for blade research, design, and development,” Vestas stated in the release.
The company revealed that it “will now go into a consultation process with employee representatives” and said it “aims to have clarity for most employees by January 2025”. Vestas highlighted that, following its announcement, the company employs more than 33,000 people globally and more than 1,500 in the UK across onshore and offshore activities.
In the release, Anders Nielsen, the group CTO of Vestas, said, “we have invested in jobs and manufacturing activities on the Isle of Wight for more than two decades, and we have great pride in the technical expertise that has been developed at the site”.
“We are pleased that this partnership in principle with the UK government means we can continue manufacturing activities at the Isle of Wight to support the deployment of onshore wind in the UK,” he added.
“The commitment to domestic manufacturing and clean energy from the new government and Secretary of State has been instrumental in making this decision. My sincere gratitude goes to everyone working for us on the Isle of Wight, for their significant contribution to wind energy, and we are pleased to be retaining, and offering a significant number of opportunities for our impacted colleagues during this process,” he went on to state.
In a release posted on the UK government website this week, UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said, “my thoughts … are with the staff at Vestas who are facing uncertainty about the future of their jobs, especially at this time of year”.
“I am, however, pleased that we have reached this agreement in principle with the company to save 300 jobs on the site,” he added.
“This agreement in principle will now need to be followed up by the formal due diligence process. But the action we are taking is designed to secure work at one of the Isle of Wight’s largest employers and give the UK a vital new industrial capability for our clean energy future,” he continued.
That UK government release stated that the proposed plans for the Isle of Wight factory have been made possible in part because of the lifting of the ban on onshore wind, “as part of our Plan for Change to make Britain a clean energy superpower, creating a growing supply chain in the UK and making the site viable for the longer term”.
The release noted that the government considers blade manufacturing essential for its clean power mission and revealed that it “intervened to negotiate with the company in recent weeks”.
“With the ban on onshore wind lifted, increased demand for onshore turbines could lead to additional jobs across the industry in future,” it added.
“This represents a new way of dealing with businesses in the interest of the country … It is the same approach which has led to over GBP 60 billion ($76.3 billion) investment since July,” it continued.
A policy paper published on the UK government’s website on July 8 said, “we are … committed to doubling onshore wind energy by 2030”.
“That means immediately removing the de facto ban on onshore wind in England, in place since 2015,” it added.
According to the Energy Institute’s (EI) 2024 statistical review of world energy, which was published earlier this year, the UK had 30,215 megawatts of installed wind turbine capacity at the end of 2023. That figure marked a 5.1 percent year on year increase and 3.0 percent of global installed wind turbine capacity at year-end 2023, the review revealed.
The UK produced 82.0 terawatt hours of energy via wind last year, according to the review, which outlined that this was up 2.2 percent year on year.
Vestas describes itself as the energy industry’s global partner on sustainable energy solutions. It designs, manufactures, installs, and services onshore and offshore wind turbines across the globe, according to its site, which notes that, “with more than 185 GW of wind turbines in 88 countries, we have installed more wind power than anyone else”.
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