Vestas to repurpose Isle of Wight facility for U.K. onshore blades

Following an agreement in principle with the UK government, Vestas (Aarhus, Denmark) intends to repurpose its Isle of Wight facilities to build onshore blades, mainly to support the U.K. market. This is a significant shift for the company, in which these facilities, since 2002, have played a role in the manufacture of global turbine blades. At present, the factory focuses on manufacturing blades for the V174 offshore turbine, though demand for this product is coming to an end and site constraints have made it unsuitable for next-gen offshore wind blade production, Vestas reports.

Vestas anticipates this transition to onshore blades will meet increased demand for onshore wind energy in the country, which has been boosted following the government’s decision to remove the de facto onshore wind ban in England, and with its focus on building domestic supply chains.

Current manufacturing operations at the Isle of Wight employ approximately 600 people across manufacturing, logistics and support functions. The agreement in principle with the UK government to transition to new activities will sustain approximately 300 jobs in manufacturing activities. In addition, Vestas will offer a significant number of opportunities in other parts of its business. These opportunities will include roles supporting U.K. operations and other Vestas factories.

Notably, Vestas’ technology activities, which employ approximately 140 people on the island, are not impacted by this decision and will remain a company center of excellence for blade research, design and development.

“We have invested in jobs and manufacturing activities on the Isle of Wight for more than two decades, and we have great pride in the technical expertise that has been developed at the site,” says Anders Nielsen, Group CTOO of Vestas. “We are pleased that this partnership in principle with the UK government means we can continue manufacturing activities at the Isle of Wight to support the deployment of onshore wind in the U.K.”

Vestas now moves into a consultation process with employee representatives and aims to have clarity for most employees by January 2025. Currently, Vestas employs more than 33,000 globally and more than 1,500 in the U.K. across onshore and offshore activities.