CLEGG ANNOUNCES WIND TURBINE PLANS FOR DISUSED SHIPYARDS
The Liberal Democrats plan to create 57,000 jobs by upgrading disused shipyards into centres for the production of off-shore wind turbines, leader Nick Clegg announced today during a visit to Newcastle.
Mr Clegg said it was a "scandal" that 90% of the £1.75 billion contract for a wind farm off the coast of Kent was going to foreign contractors, because there were no facilities to build the giant turbines in the UK.
Under the Lib Dem plans, all port authorities on the North Sea and Irish Sea would be able to bid for a share of a GBP400 million pot to convert seven shipyards, with towns like Liverpool, Newcastle, Hull, Middlesbrough, Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen and Glasgow expected to be in the running.
Mr Clegg said that the scheme would not only help the Lib Dems meet their target of increasing the proportion of UK electricity that comes from renewables to 40% by 2020, but also create tens of thousands of jobs in cities hard hit by unemployment.
A further £100 million would be invested in training and testing facilities, including at universities with specialist engineering research units, such as Loughborough, Durham and Newcastle.
Launching the plan during a visit to a former shipyard in Newcastle, the Lib Dem leader said: "We need to make sure we come out of this recession with a rebalanced and green economy.
"Our plans would act as a huge boost for Britain's budding wind industry and create nearly 60,000 jobs in many shipyard cities where unemployment is a huge problem.
"New off-shore turbines, with blades the size of the London Eye, need to be built and launched from modern docks, so we need to upgrade our shipyards to take advantage of this massive opportunity.
"Just imagine the docks and shipyards along the coastline of Britain coming to life and leading the world in this new technology.
"Expanding off-shore wind will create jobs but unless we act now, these jobs won't be British jobs. It's a scandal that 90% of the £1.75bn contract for a wind farm off the coast of Kent is going to foreign contractors, with the turbines being manufactured in Germany.
"Investing in infrastructure for a new green economy not only helps create jobs now but will allow Britain to take its place at the cutting edge of this growing industrial sector for the future.
"Britain clearly has the manufacturing and engineering expertise to lead the world in this green technology but government must play its part in supporting this."
Liberal Democrats plan to redirect £3.6 billion of Government spending within a year of the general election to create jobs and build up the national infrastructure.
They believe 6,400 new offshore wind-turbines will be needed to meet targets on renewable energy.
Conversion of shipyards would involve upgrading to make them suitable for construction and testing of turbines and are deep enough for the boats needed to transport the blades and towers to the sites of wind farms in the North and Irish Seas.