Offshore Wind Supply Chain Tyneside 2025-10-29

Opened the debate

I thank Mr Speaker for granting the debate. Tonight, I set out the case for further Government support being needed for the offshore wind sector in places such as Tyneside. Smulders Projects UK, a critical employer in my constituency based in Wallsend, is facing challenges due to budget cuts and competition from lower-cost regions like China, APAC, and the Middle East. Concerns include unfair competition, physical barriers constraining supply chains, and a two-year gap in contracts affecting domestic fabricators such as Smulders. I call on the Government to meet with me, representatives from Smulders and the wider Tyneside supply chain to discuss urgent support needs.

Government Response

The Minister acknowledges the significant challenges faced by the offshore wind sector in Tyneside. She outlines that the Government has invested heavily in renewable energy through AR7, with a focus on maximising green jobs and ensuring the UK's competitiveness. The Government is committed to working with industry leaders like Smulders to address physical barriers such as cable height restrictions over the Tyne. She reaffirms the Department’s support for accelerating work and pressing National Grid for an earlier completion date. Additionally, the Minister discusses efforts to mitigate the two-year gap in contracts by encouraging consistent revenue streams through initiatives like AR7 clean industry bonus incentives. The Government is dedicated to supporting domestic fabricators during transitional periods and aims to meet with representatives from Tyneside supply chains to address concerns. We are on a mission to make Britain a clean energy superpower by delivering clean power by 2030 through offshore wind, providing secure clean energy and thousands of skilled jobs. The UK generates the highest amount of offshore wind in Europe at 16.7 GW and second only to China. We have consented 4.2 GW since coming into office with a pipeline of 75 GW—450% increase on our current capacity. Allocation round 7 for fixed-bottom offshore wind has an initial budget of £900 million, an increase from previous rounds. A package of support worth up to £1 billion is available for offshore wind supply chains, including £300 million from Great British Energy and £400 million from the Crown Estate. We are also providing a clean industry bonus to reward projects that invest in coastal communities and cleaner supply chains. The Office for Clean Energy Jobs will provide training and support for workers in the sector with potential to create up to 100,000 jobs by 2030. Tyneside is ideal for offshore energy sector services due to its capacity and recent investments like £50 million from UK Infrastructure Bank for Port of Tyne redevelopment adding £150 million investment to transform land into clean energy park creating up to 12,000 jobs and delivering £5.6 billion to the economy. We are open to discussing progress on undergrounding transmission cables with National Grid but final decision lies with Ofgem.