Unite seeks government intervention to save England’s wind turbine
plants
19th May 2009
Unite the union will ask government to act to save England’s
only wind turbine manufacturing plants after Vestas Blades
announced the factories at its Isle of Wight and Southampton sites
will close in July, with the loss of 625 jobs and the transfer of
production to China and the US.
At a meeting with Ed Miliband, secretary of state for energy and
climate change, Unite will ask the government to follow the example
of the Scottish parliament which recently invested £10 million.
This money enabled a £27 million investment from a new Danish
company when Vestas shed its Scottish site.
Jack Dromey, Unite deputy general secretary, said: “These
closures would be a disaster from the point of view of green jobs,
and the long term sustainability of the UK's energy
supply.
"The government talks about how green jobs will help the
country climb out of the recession, so we hope they will take
action to save England’s only wind turbine manufacturing capacity
to survive.”
The call for action is supported by environmental group Friends of
the Earth which believe that the government must take action now to
keep these wind turbine manufacturing jobs in Britain.
Nick Rau, Friends of the Earth’s energy campaigner, said:
“Allowing this country’s only wind turbine manufacturer to close
these manufacturing plants would be an absolute tragedy – the UK
has the best wind resources in the whole of Europe and we should be
creating green energy jobs, not shedding them.
“The government must now take action to keep wind turbine
manufacturing jobs in Britain, tackle barriers to renewable energy,
and make this country a world leader in developing a clean and
prosperous low-carbon economy.”
The UK has the best ‘wind resources’ in Europe but currently
generates just five per cent of power from this source, less than
than most other large economies.
At the meeting Unite will ask the government to:
- Address blockages in the planning system, which has been called
‘the most difficult in the world’ by Vestas CEO, Ditlev
Engel
- Take steps to ensure that the banks free up investment for
sustainable investment to create good, green jobs
- Ensure there is sufficient investment in grid
expansion
- Invest more in skills for renewable energy
- Consider following the Spanish example of only allowing
planning permission for sites, if those turbines are at least in
part manufactured in that region. (Using EU social and
environmental clauses that make this an entirely legitimate
practice)
- Introduce feed in tariffs for large scale wind, which have
driven rapid expansion of wind energy in most other large economies
and at lower cost to the energy consumer than our current
system
ENDS
For more information contact: Unite press officer Liane Groves
on 07793 661 657 or Friends of the Earth press officer, Marie
Reynolds on 0207 566 1647
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