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Liberal Democrat Leader Nick Clegg today set out a manifesto pledge to create 57,000 jobs by investing £400 million upgrading disused shipyards to enable the production of off-shore wind turbines.
Mr Clegg launched this latest plank of the Liberal Democrats’ economic stimulus and job creation package visiting a former shipyard in Newcastle.
The proposals would enable firms to manufacture off-shore wind turbines in the UK, instead of seeing them built abroad due to out-of-date facilities.
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 are ideally located to host turbine manufacturers due to their proximity to the off-shore wind farms; however, they are currently unable to invest due to the lack of appropriate docks with suitable space.
The proposals to invest in physical infrastructure to support a greener economy also include a pledge to invest £100 million in training and testing facilities, including at universities with specialist engineering research facilities such as Loughborough, Durham and Newcastle.
Mr Clegg said: "We need to make sure we come out of this recession with a rebalanced and green economy.
"Our plans would act as a huge boost for Britain's budding wind industry and create nearly 60,000 jobs in many shipyard cities where unemployment is a huge problem.
"New off-shore turbines, with blades the size of the London Eye, need to be built and launched from modern docks, so we need to upgrade our shipyards to take advantage of this massive opportunity.
"Expanding off-shore wind will create jobs but unless we act now, these jobs won't be British jobs. It's a scandal that 90% of the £1.75 billion contract for a wind farm off the coast of Kent is going to foreign contractors, with the turbines being manufactured in Germany.
"Investing in infrastructure for a new green economy not only helps create jobs now but will allow Britain to take its place at the cutting edge of this growing industrial sector for the future."
(CD/GK)
