The agreement with the government will help sustain some 300 manufacturing jobs at the factory but 300 jobs in the 600-strong workforce involved in manufacturing activities are at risk of redundancy. The additional 140 jobs in blade research, design and development on the island are not impacted by this decision.
Vestas says it will “offer a significant number of opportunities” in other parts of its business, including roles supporting UK operations and other Vestas factories. The company and employee representatives will now start consultation which Vestas expects to yield clarity for most employees by January 2025.
The new blade manufacturing at the Isle of Wight factory will mainly support UK onshore wind, which has been boosted after the government removed the de facto ban on onshore wind in England this summer, Vestas notes.
“We are pleased that this partnership in principle with the UK Government means we can continue manufacturing activities at the Isle of Wight to support the deployment of onshore wind in the UK. The commitment to domestic manufacturing and clean energy from the new government and Secretary of State has been instrumental in making this decision”, said Anders Nielsen, Group CTOO of Vestas.
“My sincere gratitude goes to everyone working for us on the Isle of Wight, for their significant contribution to wind energy, and we are pleased to be retaining, and offering a significant number of opportunities for our impacted colleagues during this process.”
Following the news from Vestas on 11 December, Isle of Wight’s representatives commented on the move by the UK Government.
Local media outlet OnTheWight cites the MP for Isle of Wight West, Richard Quigley, as saying the government stepped in to help save the factory from complete closure after the previous government made it difficult for companies like Vestas to plan for the future due to lack of an industrial strategy and the ban of onshore wind.
“I will do all I can to work with the local community to ensure those impacted by this news are properly supported”, Richard Quigley said.
The MP for Isle of Wight East, Joe Robertson, said that while Vestas plans to offer the affected employees opportunities within other parts of the business, including roles supporting operations at other Vestas sites, this may not be the preferred solution for everyone.
“[It] is no good offering jobs hundreds of miles away meaning young working families decide to leave the Island for good. If there are jobs available in the Solent area, we know that the cost of commuting off the Island is high and ferry services are unreliable, so this is not a viable option for many”, OnTheWight cites Joe Robertson as saying.
“Not all of the jobs at risk on the Island are currently filled by people living on the Island and I have asked that jobs done by Island residents are prioritised for saving in the workforce reorganisation.”
Vestas started the production of the V174 blades at the factory in Newport on the Isle of Wight in 2022 as the V174-9.5 MW turbine blade led to the launching of a new manufacturing line, adding to existing manufacturing capacity in Denmark and Taiwan. The facility was also manufacturing blades for the earlier V164 offshore wind turbine model.
At the time when the new production line was opened in the Isle of Wight, Vestas had two European projects using this technology in the pipeline, the Arcadis Ost 1 and the Baltic Eagle offshore wind farm, both located in the German Baltic Sea.
Arcadis Ost 1 has been completed and is now in operation while Baltic Eagle will enter full commercial operation soon as the last of its 50 V174-9.5 MW turbines was installed in October.
