The North East can count the blessings of its geography for the North Sea whose gales are a gift to our diverse national energy mix and good quality jobs in the region.
The wind power can also help us reach our net zero targets and help reduce the impact of climate change, which we are witnessing around the world on an increasingly regular basis.
But maximising our natural potential requires partnership between companies that can exploit our assets and governments that can lend a hand.
The North East’s renewable energy sector is thankfully blessed with several companies and primarily Smulders Projects UK, which I have worked with for many years.
Wallsend is at the cutting edge as Smulders chose to base itself there nearly ten years ago.
The company notched up a turnover of £1 billion last year. At peak, Smulders employs up to 600 mainly local people and contributes through the Newcastle College Energy Academy to training and apprenticeship programmes.
It’s a global player and the UK’s leading provider of the kit that forms the essential building blocks of the critical infrastructure required for UK renewable energy security.
Its jacket foundations and high-voltage offshore substations can help ensure independent energy security for the UK so that we are no longer at the mercy of the world’s petrostates and dictators.
Old fashioned economic theories scorned the principle of such British-based sectors on the grounds that we would benefit from services being cheaper elsewhere.
We cannot rely, however, on other countries monopolising key products that could make us hostage to their political demands. It may be more expensive to maintain home-grown industries but it is better for our security.
But our home-grown offshore wind industry faces gales of competition from lower-cost regions such as the middle east, the far east and China.
In a recent parliamentary debate, I detailed fears about an uneven playing field and unfair competition from these places and the need for additional measures and guarantees to ensure that a significant portion of offshore wind infrastructure is secured and fabricated by companies such as Smulders.
Without them, there will be no British based offshore wind projects. Smulders fear that without action, there will be a two year gap in UK fabrication. Hundreds of students in the Energy Academy may not have jobs to go to. Swifter government action is vital to maximise this jewel in Wallsend for the benefit of the North East and the country as a whole.
I also told the minister about how companies are constrained by physical barriers. Power cables over the Tyne are lower than the tall ships taking kit to the North Sea The height restriction is 87 metres but future wind turbine jackets will exceed 100 to 120 metres. It means that Smulders cannot bid for certain contracts despite having world-class facilities and the sharpest minds ready to go. It also risks possible net gross value added benefits of up to £1.2 billion. The Energy Secretary promises to help my long-running campaign to underground these cables and I want an earlier completion date for this work.
The minister concluded that our offshore wind sector is a British success story of which we should all be proud. She said that the perfect conditions provided by the North Sea and our legendary offshore workforce and supply chains means we are perfectly placed to keep leading the way. But she added that the Government is not content with simply winning the race for clean power but wants to build the industries of the future here in Britain and so create a new generation of good, skilled jobs for the communities and to ensure that the economic benefits of the clean power transition are felt in Tyneside and in every corner of our country.
All that’s music to my ears but I will keep up the pressure to maximise our natural advantages for the common good and to help ensure that green supply chains are anchored in the North East as I have for a decade. Throughout history, the Tyne has stepped up when the country has needed it most. Today it stands ready to aid the transition to renewables.
The Tyne has always stepped up when needed – Today it stands ready to aid the transition to renewables
