NORTH and East Yorkshire businesses were urged to get involved in an industry expected to create 10,000 new jobs at an event in York yesterday.

Wind energy giants Siemens, GE Power, Gamesa, Alstrom and Mainstream Renewable Power travelled from as far afield as Germany and Spain to encourage local businesses to provide the supply chain they need for a potential cluster of offshore wind farms off the East Coast of England.

Northallerton-based steel businesses Severfield Rowen, Allerton Steel and coatings manufacturer 3m, also based in Northallerton, are already working in the industry, as well as Malton-based Ellis Patents which exports cable cleats to the United States for use in wind power projects.

The global manufacturers told the conference that the UK was at the forefront of the offshore wind industry and they needed local suppliers in areas like Yorkshire where they are investing millions of pounds, but with global ambitions so they can then follow them as they export around the world.

Richard Hall, supply chain manager for offshore wind at the Department of Energy and Climate Change, said more competition was needed in the industry to reduce the cost of wind energy.

Andrew Fox, Yorkshire Forward’s sector manager for environmental technologies, said that the regional development agency had carried out research showing that 10,000 jobs could be created in Yorkshire through the wind energy industry. The figures are based on three large manufacturers moving into Yorkshire and with Siemens just choosing the ABP Alexandra Dock site in Hull as their preferred location for an £80 million manufacturing plant, he said they are confident this will happen.

“Siemens was the market leader from 2008 to 2010. Every offshore turbine that was sold was a Siemens turbine, so getting Siemens to come to the Humber shows its potential,” he said.

Yorkshire Forward expects 2,500 of the new jobs to be factory jobs, making the parts of the turbine such as the tower, blades and nacelles, the cover which houses the components of the turbine. Another 2,500 jobs would be created by the broader supply chain, such as generators.

Skilled engineering jobs, such as consultants who can solve the technical questions of where cables will need to be located to bring the offshore power inland, and how energy will be converted, will create 5,000 jobs and a further 5,000 will be created by associated professional services, such as surveyors and environmental consultants.