Supply and demand
The North West offers a lot of potential - and the renewable energy industry is really taking off there. Mike Farish reports
The North West of England has a long association with manufacturing. The Lancashire cotton industry was one of the mainstays of the Industrial Revolution and since then the area has grown to become home to various forms of manufacturing - not least automotive, aerospace and shipbuilding. With its long frontage to the Irish Sea, the region is also well-placed for both the export and import of heavy goods.
Those same factors also stand in the region’s favour when it comes to involvement in the development of the renewable energy industry. Moreover, this applies not only to actual power generation but also to supplying the industry with the equipment and services it needs to sustain operations.
On the former count, most obviously, the waters just off the region’s coastline will be home to one of the nine designated development zones in Round 3 of the UK’s offshore wind power development programme announced earlier this year by The Crown Estate. The Irish Sea zone will be developed primarily by Centrica Renewable Energy, with the involvement of RES Group, and has the potential to generate 4.2GW of power.
The area’s coastal waters are already home to several other smaller, but already operational developments under the previous Rounds 1 and 2. These include the Robin Rigg East, Barrow, Rhyl Flats and Burbo Bank wind farms, each rated at 90MW.
Nevertheless, even though the area is already up and running as a location for offshore wind, ensuring that its manufacturing industries and service providers keep pace with the development of the sector is not being left to chance. This is a major priority for Envirolink Northwest, the sector development organisation for energy and environmental technologies and service providers in the region. The remit for much of the relevant work falls to the Energy Team at Envirolink Northwest, one of whom is Dan Hughes, business development manager for renewable energy.
Hughes, who operates out of the organisation’s office in Warrington, says that the geographical area covered by Envirolink Northwest stretches from Cheshire up through Lancashire and Cumbria to the border with Scotland. As such, he confirms, the region contains a large number of companies that supply, or have the potential to supply the renewables industry and consequently profit from it. Contribution to the sector includes not just wind but also tidal, solar and other renewable technologies.
For this to happen, however, certain challenges will have to be overcome. One that Hughes identifies is the skills gap involving engineers and project managers. Moreover, he points out that much offshore wind technology is adapted from its onshore counterpart, but is not always re-designed to suit the particular demands of the marine environment. Additionally, developers and manufacturers can sometimes find banks reluctant to provide the loans required to finance certain projects. It becomes evident that despite its green credentials and enthusiastic government support, the offshore wind industry may well need some external assistance in order to meet proposed targets. That is exactly what Hughes and Envirolink Northwest aim to provide.
On a day-to-day basis that means getting out to see supply chain companies, talking to them and finding out just what they need in terms of information, contacts and promotion. Hughes alone currently visits two or three new supply chain companies a week, and that may well increase as interest in the wind industry continues to grow. Hughes comments: “They can see that the wind sector is a genuine growth area. The focus has to be on how companies whose business currently derives from elsewhere can successfully diversify their activities.”
Nevertheless, there are already indications that a significant number of companies in the region are making the transition. Granada Material Handling, based in Rochdale, designs, manufactures and installs material handling equipment including hoists, overhead cranes, vacuum lifters, manipulators and jibs for a range of industries. More recently the company has begun to look towards the wind industry as a key growth market and has had success winning a number of contracts. There is now a real focus on ensuring continued growth of the company’s presence in the offshore wind industry.
Companies capable of supplying the offshore wind industry could reap huge benefits. The skills and technologies available from the North West have already received recognition, with a number of supply chain companies receiving invitations to meet major turbine manufactures looking to establish a UK based supply chain such as Siemens.
Furthermore, Hughes also states that positioning the North West region as a robust centre for offshore wind energy related manufacturing is strengthened by the existing and established port facilities available. The Port of Barrow played an important role in the construction of the Barrow Offshore Wind Farm, which was completed during 2006. The port is also well-placed to provide support for constructing and servicing the many other renewable energy projects planned for the Irish Sea in coming years.
Hughes indicates the Cammell Laird, a heavy manufacturing and engineering facility on Merseyside, has indicated an interest in getting involved in the
sector.
“Our aim is to support as many businesses as possible in the North West of England with their growth in the wind sector,” concludes Hughes. “Creating and safeguarding jobs is a key priority. We have been building up an important record of all our clients to aid in producing supply chain maps in the future.”
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