Humber estuary can be 'Silicon Valley of green energy'

It’s a startling future vision for the Humber estuary - the Silicon Valley of green energy, leading the world in sustainable power generation.

It may seem far-fetched now, with the much-vaunted plans by Siemens for a plant building offshore wind turbines still to pass through planning and be finally confirmed, but one industry leader is in no doubt about the Humber’s place in what he calls a “CO2-free economy”.

Dr Eddie O’Connor (pictured) is Chief Executive and Founder of Mainstream Renewable Power, a company working in partnership with Siemens in the SMart Wind consortium developing the Hornsea offshore wind field, one of three huge North Sea turbine clusters within a few hours “steaming time” of the Humber.

He’s also Secretary of the European Wind Energy Association and a leading voice in the renewables field. Last week he was in Hull to talk about his vision of how offshore wind will “change the world” as “the fossil fuels era comes to an end”.

I’ve heard many speakers hail the economic potential of renewable energy for the Humber. Typically, the impact of offshore wind is predicted to be similar to that of the discovery of North Sea oil to Aberdeen. But Dr O’Connor’s assessment went much further. He described an economic powerhouse spanning both banks of the Humber, leading the transformation to sustainable energy for Britain, Europe and then the world.

His vision is based on the commitment of the UK and other nations to develop green power sources for environmental and energy security reasons. That, he says, presents a huge opportunity for the UK as an island nation with the natural resource of wind in “super-abundance”.

In a presentation to a conference at the University of Hull, Dr O’Connor predicted huge investment across Europe during “two generations of transformation to a sustainable future” in which offshore wind will be the “backbone and centrepiece” of European energy generation. He sees the Humber at the heart of that investment because of its proximity to three of the largest offshore wind fields.

The Humber ports are already Britain’s busiest docks complex, but Dr O’Connor described even more activity along the estuary, with two new ports focused on the offshore wind industry - Green Port Hull at Alexandra Dock in Hull, where Siemens will operate, and the Able Humber Port site on the south bank. He says six different types of vessels will operate out of the estuary in construction, operation and maintenance of the turbines.

He also foresees makers of turbines, towers, blades, foundations and cables all congregating around the Humber. “All of this will probably happen around the super-cluster that is being constructed as we speak on the Humber estuary,” Dr O’Connor told the New Energy Workforce conference.

The drive for a low-carbon future is underway across the continent, but the focus will be on the UK, he says. He estimates that up to 20 offshore turbines a day will need to be built over 40 years to meet Europe’s renewable energy needs - a significant proportion of them in UK waters. “That is good for the environment and very good for this country,” says Dr O’Connor. He predicts the UK will export excess electricity from wind power to the continent. “We will be supplying electricity for export many times the demand in the UK,” he says.

Until now Germany and Denmark have been the leaders in offshore wind, but Dr O’Connor believes Britain will soon take the mantle, with a resultant jobs bonanza. Based on the German experience, he predicts up to 150,000 jobs from offshore wind developments around the UK by 2020.

It will take decades for the UK and Europe to move to predominantly low-carbon energy generation and, even beyond then, Dr O’Connor says the UK can use its expertise to help the new economic super-powers such as China and India to adopt renewable energy.

Offshore wind has its critics - some say it is too expensive and the turbines don’t work when the wind doesn’t blow - but Dr O’Connor’s case is made more persuasive by the announcement the day after the conference that two of the “big six” energy companies have pulled out of plans to develop nuclear power plants in Britain.

E.ON and RWE npower scrapped their plans in the wake of concerns over nuclear safety following last year’s Japanese tsunami. The decision threw the British Government’s energy policy into disarray, but made it even more certain that wind power would be required to make a huge contribution to the country’s renewable energy needs.

Dr O’Connor says the issue of inactive turbines will be resolved by the development of a “super grid” connecting the wind fields and ensuring continuity of energy generation across a giant network of thousands of turbines. “The wind is always blowing somewhere,” he says. “It may be locally variable but it is globally plentiful”.

Dr O’Connor’s vision helped to set the conference in the context of the economic opportunity for the Humber. Other speakers highlighted a number of challenges in fulfilling the potential of renewable energy, foremost among them a predicted shortfall in engineers. Martin Hottass, Head of Skills for Siemens UK, said Britain needed almost 100,000 new engineers by 2016 as one in three reach retirement age.

All the speakers agreed it was a major priority to help schools, colleges and universities to encourage young people into engineering. Mr Hottass talked of Siemens’ commitment to working with educational establishments and training providers to encourage young  people to choose a career “in a really exciting sector with loads of opportunity”.

It was a message heard loud and clear. University of Hull Vice Chancellor Professor Calie Pistorius said the university had a range of courses and programmes focused on renewables and the low-carbon economy.  It was committed to building “a workforce that is low-carbon aware and has the right specific skills,” he pledged.

Certainly there is now a concerted focus across the Humber to equip local workers with the skills to gain employment and build careers in the offshore wind and wider renewable energy industries.

But will Dr O’Connor’s vision of the Humber at the heart of an offshore wind bonanza become reality? He is clearly an evangelist for offshore wind and his forecasts may be at the most optimistic end of the range, but even if the impact is half of what he predicts, the effects will be truly transformational and be felt for decades.

“Why can’t the Humber become the Silicon Valley of the energy of the future?”, asked Dr O’Connor. Why not indeed. And what a thrilling, unprecedented opportunity to transform the fortunes and long-term prospects of a region where unemployment is stubbornly high.

• The New Energy Workforce conference at the University of Hull was staged by Humber Chemical Focus and the university’s Centre for Adaptive Science and Sustainability.

Humber Chemical Focus

Centre for Adaptive Science and Sustainability at the University of Hull

Dr Eddie O’Connor blogs on offshore wind and renewable energy issues at http://eddie.mainstreamrp.com/

Siemens and the offshore wind bonanza: How can the Humber keep the jobs and wealth

Politicians are not noted for understatement but, in the case of the huge wave of investment on its way to Hull and the Humber, local MPs have played the prospects down.

So says one of them, the West Hull and Hessle MP Alan Johnson, as he puts into perspective how significant the burgeoning renewables sector will be for a city that has lacked a core industry since its fishing fleet was decommissioned after the 1970s Cod Wars.

Hull’s elected representatives have been cautious in celebrating the decision by German giant Siemens to locate a factory manufacturing offshore wind turbines on Hull’s dockside. The caution is understandable. As Mr Johnson says, the city has seen many false economic dawns, but he is in no doubt that this is the real deal. “For once the politicians are underplaying this. It’s astounding what it will do for this area”, says the MP, who compares the impact as “like oil to Aberdeen”.

The Siemens facility will bring 700 new jobs. Many thousands more will come in the supply chain and from other green energy investments along the Humber estuary.

Why the Humber? The key is location. It is just 12 hours “steaming time” from three huge North Sea wind farms where 5,000 turbines will be erected in what has been described as the biggest civil engineering project in the world. It will be a game-changer for an area with high levels of unemployment and reeling from the likely loss of 850 skilled manufacturing jobs at BAE Systems in Brough.

But, while the Humber bids to become the UK’s renewable energy capital, there is a challenge to ensure the resulting jobs and wealth stay in the region. Offshore wind energy is in its infancy in the UK. On the continent there are established supply chains keen to profit as the industry develops in Britain, as companies heard at a conference, Offshore Wind: A Guide for Businesses, staged by industry body the Renewables Network and specialist PR and marketing company Footprint Renewables.

Some local businesses have already grabbed a slice of the action, notably MMS, based in Hull, which will build and operate a fleet of vessels to transfer technicians and equipment to the turbine fields. Others need to get up to speed - and fast.

Renewables Network Business Development Director Sam Pick says Siemens will be “the magnet that drags the rest of the industry on” and says local firms need to find their place in the supply chain. “Think about who you are going to send your invoice to - that’s where you target your products and services”, he urges.

Mr Pick says the big reward for the region is long-term careers, not just jobs. “People can get into these careers and grow with the industry”.

Another speaker, Eric Collis, of the Humberside Engineering Training Association (HETA), said a rapidly-evolving industry required a workforce who could learn and relearn skills. They’ll be well paid, though. He quoted £52,000 as the going rate salary for a technician working offshore.

He also predicted fierce competition for contracts. “It will be like the Klondike. Competition will come in like seagulls,” said Mr Collis. “You’re no longer competing with the guy around the corner. You’re competing with the rest of the world and they’re hungry for the work too”.

Capacity to grow and access to funding were vital, said John Britton of Hull-based consultancy BCG Bridgepoint. He said the UK offshore wind industry would be four times bigger in 2016 than in 2010. By 2030 it is predicted to be eight times larger than in 2016. Tracking that exponential growth would see a SME with turnover of £300,000 today become a £10m business, he explained.

Rob Bell, of skills and logistics consultancy Archomai, highlighted a key difference from the Aberdeen experience: “North Sea oil made money; North Sea wind costs money”. The industry’s subsidies meant pressure to reduce supply chain costs by 30 per cent to ease the taxpayer burden. “We’ve got to understand that this is not shopping at Harrods, it’s shopping at Lidl”, he cautioned. Suppliers would profit by driving down the industry’s costs, he said.

Logistics and supply chain expert Professor Chee Wong, from the University of Hull, said another challenge was compliance with a host of accreditations demanded by the likes of Siemens. The university is one of many organisations focused on developing a local skilled workforce equipped for the new opportunities.

Humber firms will also need to find and forge alliances or joint ventures, such as the British and Danish ownership of Alpha Energy, a company based in Hull supplying contract workers to the onshore and offshore wind industries. “You’ve got to put the air miles in”, says Director Bruce Marbrow.

And now is the time to act, says Mr Pick. He’s tired of hearing talk of “if” offshore wind will take off. “It’s not an if,” he says. “We need to be moving right now. This may be new here, but not in Denmark and Germany and companies here will be competing with existing suppliers there.”

• This article was first published in the Yorkshire Post

Siemens and offshore wind: How Humber firms can benefit from the bonanza

By common agreement, the plan by Siemens to build turbines in Hull for the huge Round 3 wind farms in the North Sea represents the most significant inward investment the city has seen for decades.

The combined investment by Siemens and Associated British Ports in Green Port Hull at Alexandra Dock is in excess of £200m. Siemens will employ 700 directly at the turbine factory, but the real boost for the city and region will come from the thousands employed in the supply chain and other activities as Siemens becomes the catalyst for the Humber to emerge as a major hub for renewable energy industries.

But the key issue is how do businesses in Hull and the Humber claim a slice of the action and ensure a significant proportion of the jobs and economic benefits stay local. The big risk is that, if local firms don’t know how to become part of the supply chain, many of the jobs will go elsewhere - most likely to Europe where  to the German giant has an existing network of suppliers and contractors.

So what do companies in Hull, East Yorkshire or the wider region need to do to ensure this once-in-a-generation opportunity doesn’t pass them by?

Many of the answers will come from a special conference specifically focused on advising companies on how to win business as the offshore wind industry takes off. The conference - Offshore Wind: A Guide for Business - is being staged at the Country Park Inn, Hessle, on Thursday, 16th February, from 8.30am-2.30pm.

The line-up is impressive, including Nicola Yates, Chief Executive of Hull City Council, who will spell out the vision for the Green Port Hull development and the impact it is expected to have on the Humber region. Other speakers include Professor Chee Wong, an expert in logistics and supply chain management from the University of Hull, and Bruce Marbrow, of Alpha Energy, a joint venture based at The Deep in Hull formed to meet the growing demand for contract labour to work on both onshore and offshore turbines.

The conference has been organised by the Renewables Network, a major grouping of businesses operating in the renewable energy market,  and Footprint Renewables, a PR and marketing agency focused specifically on the industry.

I spoke to Sam Pick, of the Renewables Network, and Andrew Morton, of Footprint Renewables, and both were keen to stress that the conference would be specific in its focus  as expectations of the emergence of a major new industry for the region turn to reality.

So the content will address issues such as:

·         What Siemens and other major players want and expect from potential suppliers.

·         What exactly are the opportunities from the offshore wind industry, directly and indirectly.

·         Which accreditations are required from firms looking to tender for work.

·         The guarantees that the sector demands, in terms of quality, safety and delivery.

·         And where to find the vital information on available tenders and contract opportunities.

And Mr Pick emphasises that there will be key messages about the need for local companies to work in different ways to seize the opportunities. Competence and scaleability will be vital and that will often demand joint ventures, such as the British and Danish ownership of Alpha Energy, or looser collaborative partnerships. Those links could be formed as a result of networking at events such as this conference, which will bring together businesses focused on the offshore wind opportunity.

Mr Pick also stressed that it’s not just about building wind turbines - quoting the example of Humberside Airport which has the potential to become the UK’s no.1 heliport as a result of transporting workers to and from the huge North Sea turbine fields. He reels off a diverse range of other sectors which stand to benefit - such as legal, insurance, hotels and business consultancies - but stresses that firms engaged in all these activities will need to understand how to grasp the opportunity.

“Businesses need to prepare over the coming months and consider their offer and even possibly up their game, if they are to stand a chance of being an approved supplier - wherever this may be in the supply chain,” said Mr Pick.

It’s good advice - and it’s vital it’s heeded if the bonanza of jobs and contracts that will come from the Siemens investment is to be fully realised within the Humber region.

Full details of the conference and how to book delegate place are available via this link:

Offshore Wind: A Guide for Businesses

The story behind the story of Siemens and BAE Systems at Brough

There was a very interesting report in the Hull Daily Mail about what are described as "informal talks" between Siemens and BAE Systems, apparently about the threatened Brough site and its workforce (see link).

The article originated from a blog posted by Chris Boardman, managing director of BAE's military air and information division, on the company's internal website. Knowing how deeply sensit...ive Siemens are about publicity and the confidential and exploratory nature of the discussions, the post appears exceptionally naive. The reference to the Siemens talks was bound to become public rapidly, given that 900 workers at Brough are under threat of redundancy and there is intense media interest in both the future of Brough and the Siemens plans.
BAE are now seeking to play down the matter but have said Siemens were "keen to explore various opportunities with BAE Systems". Characteristically, German giant Siemens were said to be "unavailable for comment" - for that, read not prepared to say anything at all about what they may or may not be planning to do in Hull, Brough, or anywhere else, for that matter.
The Hull Daily Mail quotes Gareth Russell, business development manager at Associated British Ports in Hull. ABP are the landowners of the Alexandra Dock site in east Hull, which Siemens had selected as their preferred location for an offshore wind turbine manufacturing plant. Siemens signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the development, but this has since expired.
Mr Russell stresses that ABP's discussions with Siemens over Alexandra Dock remain "on track". He has voiced scepticism about the possibility of Siemens switching the plant to the Brough site, which also has a Humber riverside location, mentioning issues over the depth of the water at that point.
I suspect that nobody outside the most senior executives at Siemens really knows what their thinking is. It has become apparent that Siemens are, absolutely understandably, driving a hard bargain and that the Government has been somewhat deficient in courting the German investors. However, Hull's MPs and Hull City Council are doing everything possible to seal the Siemens deal and the Government, from David Cameron down, have belatedly voiced strong commitment to making it happen.
As Editor of the Hull Daily Mail until recently I was briefed regularly on the Siemens situation, so I'm a reasonably informed observer. My reading of the situation is that it remains highly likely that Siemens will commit to a manufacturing facility at Alexandra Dock. The Humber is the best location for the plant and Alexandra Dock is the best site, with the smoothest planning process, enabling it to be developed for production of turbines by 2014.
I cannot believe that, at this stage, Siemens would consider an alternative site, further up the Humber estuary.
It would also be deeply embarrassing if Siemens scrapped their Hull plans. The Government would take the heat, and face accusations of failing to support manufacturing employment in the UK, following the proposed mass redundancies at BAE.
My informed guess is that Siemens have been encouraged to initiate discussions with BAE about transferrable skills among the Brough workforce, perhaps by Government officials keen to do something positive to take the sting out of the loss of hundreds of skilled manufacturing jobs.
If that is the context, fair enough, provided such discussions are not allowed to undermine the battle to maintain Brough as a manufacturing facility - a campaign championed by the Hull Daily Mail.
And then there is the challenge of time. The Brough workers could be thrown on the scrapheap as early as the new year. It simply must not be allowed to happen, but the current BAE plans foresee a shutdown of aircraft manufacturing at Brough in 2012. Jettisoned workers will need to find alternative employment - difficult though that will be given the stalled economy and rising unemployment.
The fear is that the BAE workers will be condemned to unemployment or jobs not employing their skills, in the short to medium term. They have mortgages to pay and families to feed. They can't wait around for two years for jobs with Siemens to come to their rescue.
Despite the intriguing Hull Daily Mail report and continuing rumours over Siemens, my view is that nothing has changed. Local and regional leaders should continue to pursue a twin-track strategy - supporting the Battle for Brough and lobbying to secure confirmation of the Siemens investment. The regional economy needs both BAE Systems and Siemens, rather than one for the other, or God forbid, neither.
http://www.thisishullandeastriding.co.uk/Siemens-talks-future-BAE-Brough-site-workforce/story-13598152-detail/story.html