Hull energy boss calls for faster rollout of wind farms

The boss of a Hull turbine manufacturer has said the UK is not moving fast enough to build offshore wind farms.

Darren Davidson, head of Siemens Energy, said with the present speed of development, the target of 50 gigawatts of offshore power "won't be achieved".

The firm employs 6,000 people across the country, including 1,000 at its Hull factory in Alexandra Dock.

The government said it had a "clear strategy to boost UK industry and reach net zero by 2050".

Mr Davidson told the Press Association: "I think what we need to do is be at the front end, leading and helping our customers and the Government to come up with plans as to what we can to achieve because, if I'm brutally honest, we're not fast enough."

"I think it's clear to everyone. From a speed perspective, we need to improve or, I would say, help to do things faster.

"I think if we go at the current speed our objectives to get 50 gigawatts of (offshore) wind around the UK won't be achieved. And I think that it's really important that we recognise that and push for change."

As well as the Hull turbine factory, East Yorkshire is home to the world's largest offshore wind farm off the coast at Hornsea.

The UK has pledged to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, which means a country takes as much planet-warming gases out of the atmosphere as it puts in.

UK carbon emissions from electricity generation have fallen by around three-quarters since 1990, according to government figures.

However, a report by the government's independent advisers the Climate Change Committee (CCC), has called recent progress "worryingly slow" adding it was "markedly" less confident than a year ago that the UK would reach its targets for cutting carbon emissions.

A Department for Energy Security and Net Zero spokesperson said the government was "working closely with the private sector on strategic investment".

"We have a clear strategy to boost UK industry and reach net zero by 2050, backed by £300 billion in low carbon investment since 2010", the spokesperson said.

"We have a world leading renewables sector, home to the five largest operational wind farms in the world and accounting for over 40% of our electricity compared to 7% in 2010.

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