Partner Article

New jobs in green revolution

A North East firm is to create over 100 jobs as it prepares to take advantage of the UK’s green energy revolution.

TAG Energy Solutions (TAG) has been offered a grant of £1.5m by One North East as it gears up to bid for over £500m worth of work in the offshore wind sector.

The grant is being funded via the Tees Valley Industrial Programme (TVIP) and will form part of a £20m project to develop state of the art production facilities at TAG’s Haverton Hill base in Billingham, to roll tubulars and manufacture the foundations that support wind turbines in the offshore wind industry.

The project itself will create 110 new jobs and safeguard a further 33, but total employment linked to the project is estimated at over 400.

TAG ES CEO, Alex Dawson, said: “The existing TAG facilities offer developers an integrated manufacturing, marshalling, assembly and load out capability perfectly situated on the River Tees on the east coast of the UK, being very well placed for the largest planned offshore developments for the UK.

“The two principle challenges facing offshore wind are an absolute shortage of supply capacity and a need to significantly reduce costs. The facility proposed by TAG will make a significant contribution to the solution for both of these concerns. The local skills base in this type of work is second to none and this welcome development will bring much needed jobs to the region.”

A host of high-profile global companies are in the process of launching large-scale offshore projects with potential contracts ranging from £6.5m to a potential £215m.

TAG’s project has already received £1.5m from the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to develop the innovative technology required for the high-tech manufacturing.

David Eason, Chairman of TAG welcomed this news and said: “It is encouraging to receive this support for TAG and I would personally like to thank DECC, One North East and our local MP, Frank Cook who has been a major supporter of our activities at Haverton Hill since the first day I established our presence here in 2001.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .