Mabey Bridge, the UK’s largest indigenous supplier of wind turbine towers, has been awarded a contract for 30 onshore wind turbine towers from the Dutch wind turbine manufacturer EWT.
The deal, which will also see Mabey Bridge supply 41 wind turbine foundations, will be for EWT’s DW52 and DW54 500kW wind turbines for the community energy generation market. The wind turbines are 35, 40, 50 and 75 metres tall and as well as being installed in the UK will also be exported to mainland Europe.
EWT is a global designer and manufacturer of gearless wind turbines active in Europe, North America and Asia. The company offers a range of onshore direct drive wind turbines.
Mark Coia, Managing Director of Mabey Bridge Energy & Marine commented:
"There has been lots of talk recently about an industry pivot from onshore to offshore wind renewable energy generation. However, this EWT deal shows that onshore wind is supporting skilled manufacturing jobs and can play an integral role in reaching Britain’s 15% renewable energy target by 2020".
"Most importantly, this deal with EWT represents a real vote of confidence in the British renewables manufacturing sector. Whilst the UK still imports far more renewable energy infrastructure than we might like, a clean energy manufacturing sector is emerging that will help create sustainable skilled jobs and growth for years to come".
Martin Dijkstra, Global Supply Chain Manager at EWT added:
"This contract with Mabey Bridge allows us to serve our increasing project pipeline in England, Scotland and Wales in 2014. We are pleased to work with an established local manufacturer for our growing business in the UK. EWT has a strong focus on the UK market, and continuous to look for opportunities, like this agreement with Mabey Bridge, to delivery our customer the best solutions available. Sourcing components, wherever feasible, from local suppliers is a key aspect in our Supply Chain strategy."