Thousands of jobs in green industries announced as the UK Government welcomes more than £24 billion of private investment for pioneering energy projects ahead of the International Investment Summit on 14th October.
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The investments confirmed by private investors yesterday will deliver growth in the clean energy sector across our nations and regions, from Yorkshire to Suffolk and Aberdeen to Stow, representing a huge vote of confidence in the UK and long-term growth.  
Driven by the government’s clear path to growth creating the conditions for businesses to thrive, the billions worth of investments from leading companies include Iberdrola - one of the biggest energy companies in Europe - doubling their investment in the UK, Orsted unlocking £8bn and GreenVolt £2.5bn of investment in offshore wind farms, and SeAh Wind UK announcing a £225 million expansion of their investment in the North East to build a state-of-the-art wind technology manufacturing facility in Teesside, solidifying the UK’s position as a world leader in the wind power industry.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: "Whether you’re in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland or England – we are creating the conditions for businesses to thrive, and our International Investment Summit will be a springboard for every part of the UK to be an engine of innovation and investment."
Those investments include:
• Iberdrola doubling their investment in the UK, through Scottish Power, from £12bn to £24bn over the next 4 years, which includes £4bn for the East Anglia 2 wind farm off the Suffolk coast which was unlocked by this Government’s expanded allocation at the most recent wind auction round. Iberdrola Executive Chairman Ignacio Galan has also confirmed that the UK has become their largest Investment destination.
• Orsted and Greenvolt confirming that the Government’s recent expanded offshore wind auction means their projects will unlock £8bn (Orsted) and £2.5bn (Greenvolt) of investment respectively in their planned offshore wind farms. Orsted says its commitment will see thousands of jobs for local people, while Greenvolt says it will create up to 2800 construction jobs.
• SeAH Wind has made an additional £225 million investment into wind technology manufacturing in Teesside, thanks to new backing from UK Export Finance, which expects to create 750 direct jobs by 2027. This brings their total investment into the site at Teesworks up to £900 million and will help them make their ongoing factory build – one of the biggest facilities of its kind worldwide – even bigger.
• Macquarie supporting investment of £1.3bn into new green infrastructure including its Island Green Power solar farm in Stow, as a result of planning consents having been granted by the Government, and its Roadchef portfolio company installing electric car ultra-fast charging points across its sites along the UK motorway network.
• BW Group proceeding with a £300m investment into a new battery energy storage project in Birmingham.
• Holtec, a major US advanced nuclear engineering company, has confirmed a significant investment of £325 million in a new factory in South Yorkshire which will supply materials for Hinkley Point C and likely Sizewell C power stations. They say this will create up to 490 direct and 280 indirect jobs annually during the construction phase and 1,200 direct engineering jobs created over 20 years.
This follows the announcement earlier this week that up to 500 UK manufacturing jobs are set to be supported as bus operator Go Ahead confirms a major £500 million investment to decarbonise its fleet including.
This includes creating a new dedicated manufacturing line and partnership with Northern Ireland-based UK bus manufacturer Wrightbus.
The Department for Energy Security & Net Zero gave the green light for a new scheme to help unlock billions in investment in energy storage infrastructure. This could see the first significant long duration energy storage facilities in nearly 4 decades, helping to create back up renewable power and bolster the UK’s energy security. ■