Siemens' Hull wind factory rolls out first blade

German industrial group Siemens (ETR:SIE) is opening today its offshore wind factory in Hull, the UK, showing off the first 75-metre (246-ft) blade manufactured at the site.

The plant will produce hundreds of blades a year for Siemens' 7-MW and next-generation 8-MW turbines, with the first pieces to be installed at Dong Energy A/S' (CPH:DENERG) 580-MW Race Bank wind farm off the North Norfolk coast.

About two thirds of the blades at Race Bank will come from the Siemens plant in Hull. Dong said in a separate statement today that installation of the blades and the rest of the turbines is on track to start in the summer of 2017. The wind farm is expected to be fully operational in 2018.

The Hull blade factory is part of a GBP-310-million (USD 387m/EUR 365m) development at Hull's Alexandra Dock, a joint investment by Siemens and Associated British Ports (ABP), that also includes assembly and servicing facilities.

The German group has so far hired almost 700 people, with another 100 working at Alexandra Dock for its suppliers. Recruitment up to a total of 1,000 people will continue next year as the site becomes fully operational, the company said.

The first wind farm to be serviced by the Hull complex is the 402-MW Dudgeon project of Statoil, Statkraft and Masdar. Turbine towers of 90 m have already been assembled at the dockside, ready for load out with other components early in January to the wind farm.

(GBP 1.0 = USD 1.250/EUR 1.177)

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