Wind farm factory planned for Teesside

South Korean pipe manufacturer SeAH Wind has revealed plans for a 40m-tall wind farm factory, which will be located on a 90-acre site in the Teesside Freeport.

On completion, it will have a 105,000m² footprint, making it one of the largest facilities of its type in the world.

The factory will service the offshore wind sector, producing monopiles that form the foundations of offshore wind turbine construction. It will create 750 direct jobs and 1,500 more in the supply chain and during construction.Work begins in July and the plant is expected to be fully operational by 2026.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “2022 is our year of construction and we are rebuilding a new skyline for Teesside – one that looks to the future and is creating hundreds of well-paid jobs in the cleaner, healthier and safer industries of tomorrow.

“It’s fantastic to see that both SeAH Wind and its construction consultants, K2 Consultancy, are committed to employing local workers and using the region’s talent and suppliers to deliver the facility.”

President & CEO of SeAH Steel Holdings, Joosung Lee said: “Bringing the UK’s first monopile manufacturing facility to fruition is a very meaningful and significant project to the UK offshore wind industry. We will make every effort to produce visible outcomes in every stage of the development.”