Lib Dem Pledge to Invest £400m in 'Green Power' Infrastructure (Scarborough and Whitby Liberal Democrats)

Scarborough and Whitby Liberal Democrats <info@scarboroughandwhitbylibdems.org.uk>

Lib Dem Pledge to Invest £400m in 'Green Power' Infrastructure

March 19, 2010 2:30 PM

Fiona Hall, leader of the UK Lib Dem Euro-MPs, has welcomed the party's manifesto pledge to create 57,000 jobs, partly by investing £400 million upgrading disused shipyards for the UK manufacture of offshore wind turbines.

Current plans to expand wind farms in the North and Irish seas could see every one of the 6,400 turbines needed brought in from abroad, as there are currently no turbine manufacturers in the UK. British ports and especially those in the North East are ideally located to host turbine manufacturers due to their proximity to the sites of large proposed off-shore wind farms but they currently lack appropriate docksides with suitable space.

Fiona Hall said: "Investment in port infrastructure is crucial if the UK's renewable energy industry is to grow and beat its European competitors. "This commitment by the Liberal Democrats is key to ensuring that the jobs that will be created from the development of North Sea offshore wind will be created here in the UK"

Local Lib Dem Parliamentary Candidate, Tania Exley-Moore said "this would be great news for Scarborough and Whitby. Investment in shipbuilding yards on the East Coast and the large scale development of offshore wind farms off our coastline will be a real boost to local employment."