UK renewable energy: Humber wind turbine plant awarded £75m

Construction of a £500m wind turbine manufacturing facility is set to go ahead - 12 years after it was first proposed.

Developer Able UK has been awarded £75m of government funding for its marine energy park on the Humber's south bank.

It said the site, at Killingholme, North Lincolnshire, would create up to 3,000 jobs by 2030 as well as a new quay and deep water port facilities.

Able's Neil Etherington said the cash was the "leg-up" the project needed.

The funds will be provided by the Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Scheme - part of government targets to power every home in the UK via offshore farms.

It is hoped the Lincolnshire site will become a base for the construction of turbines for huge North Sea wind farms.

Able UK development director Mr Etherington said the funding would ensure the region played a major role in government plans.

"It's a sizeable amount of money we've been provided with by government [and] we've always made it clear we needed that leg up because it is a risky project," he said.

"We are also doing the right thing in terms of the planet and climate change," he said.

There have been objections to the project, which involves reclaiming hundreds of acres of land from the Humber estuary, from groups such as wildlife charity the RSPB.

It previously said it was concerned at the loss of 0.5 sq km of habitat heavily relied upon by "internationally important wildlife".

Others have seen the plans as a boost for the area's manufacturing sector, which was hit by the collapse of British Steel in 2018.

Rob Waltham, leader of North Lincolnshire Council, said: "We are starting to see the PM's ambitions for levelling up in the north, and we are clearly now in receipt of more cash which will drive that.

"We have the skills and experience and we are now positioned as central to the development of a world-leading industry - people across North Lincolnshire will directly benefit from this announcement for years to come."

Work is due to start in April.

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