Siemens invests in British wind power coups?

According to the British Broadcasting Corporation, Siemens, an electrical giant, confirmed that it will invest £310 million in a joint venture with British Joint Port Co., Ltd. to construct large-scale wind power in Hull City on the north bank of Humber in East Yorkshire, England. Turbine production and installation equipment.

The company stated that its investment in Hull will be used in two parts, one part for the production of an assembly line for assembly of wind turbines, namely the company's high-profile announcement of the “Green Port” project and another part for a new blade manufacturing base. Siemens invested a total of 160 million pounds, and British United Port Corporation invested an additional 150 million pounds.

Long-term momentum

According to foreign media, Siemens' investment in the construction of a wind turbine production assembly plant will effectively boost the manufacturing capacity in northern England and will also stabilize the coalition government’s crumbling confidence in green energy.

Siemens stated that it hoped to build the production assembly plant as early as three years ago. That is to say, the “Green Port” project was submitted as early as January 2011 and it has obtained planning permission in May 2012. However, Siemens did not make a firm commitment and therefore caused foreign media to worry that this plan may not be implemented at all.

It was not until March that the project was finally signed by Siemens and Union Port. Unionport CEO James Cooper said: "This announcement by Siemens highlighted the important role the Humber region plays in servicing energy needs in the UK, whether it is now or in the future. We are very pleased that Siemens has chosen Collaborated with us to witness this exciting construction project."

Siemens stated that the “Green Port” project will be responsible for the construction of wind turbine production, assembly and service equipment, which will create 450 jobs. Another blade manufacturing base will build the 75-meter-long blades required for 6 MW of wind turbines, and the site will provide 550 jobs.

Michael Souss, one of Siemens' top executive committee member and head of the Department of Energy, said in a statement: “We are convinced that we have sufficient conditions to ensure that this investment will play our greatest role, and that the UK’s energy policy provides an opportunity for the development of offshore wind energy resources. A good framework, so we invest in this market."

Siemens stated that the “Green Port” project and the blade production base will begin operations in 2016 to meet the needs of large-scale wind farms in Doge Beach and other places.

Siemens and Union Ports stated that they will submit planning applications to the Hull City Council and the East Yorkshire Commission in the coming months.

May be a turnaround

Stephen Brady, leader of the Labour Department of the Hull City Council, said: “This investment and construction of Siemens and the Joint Port is definitely a milestone. The promotion of this project is very complicated and it takes a lot of time and energy from various parties to reach this point. ”

He added that the city council had discussed with Siemens and Union Port and hoped to work together to make the Humber area an energy estuary in Britain.

East York County Councilman, Conservative leader Stephen Panaby, said: "This is a historic moment for the Humber River area. It has been unmatched for quite some time. This investment has brought to East Yorkshire businesses. Large-scale economic benefits are truly unparalleled!"

Energy Minister Ed Davey said: “The investment and construction of Siemens is an excellent news, whether it is for Hull City, the Humber region, the entire UK, wind power industry, or energy security. At the same time, The investment can also guarantee the power supply and bring jobs to more than 1,000 people. What's more significant is that today we invest in green energy in our country, which will reduce our dependence on foreign imports, which in turn will help reduce consumer spending. .

British Prime Minister Cameron also said that this investment will definitely receive the most recognition in the British government's economic plan.

Mary McCaffrey, CEO of the British Renewable Energy Association, said: “This is absolutely a coup for the British wind power industry. It is simply turning the tide. We have been waiting for this opportunity to emerge.”

The British strategy also needs to be localized

Siemens' investment in the construction of a wind turbine production assembly plant and a blade manufacturing base in the UK has given Siemens confidence and greatly boosted the confidence of the UK wind power industry. However, does Siemens benefit from all the way in the UK?

Energy is an important business of Siemens in the world. Even the giants of the electrical industry are not necessarily able to realize the ideal huge profits in any overseas market. Industry insiders pointed out that Siemens pursues a conservative and steady development path and is reluctant to try some of the more radical businesses. It is still time to observe how the company has made huge investments in the UK.

Looking at Siemens' business in China's energy sector, its progress is not eye-catching. Analyst Zhu Yuyu once stated that Siemens performed poorly in China's energy sector. On the one hand, because of the economic slowdown and tightening wind power policy, the development of wind power in China has slowed down and the market demand is weak, while Siemens’ main offshore wind power business While China is still at an exploratory stage, it will take a long process to open the market. On the other hand, Siemens' strategy is a "high-tech, high-quality, high-profit" route, with no price advantage.

Zhu Yuyu also stated that in the energy sector, Siemens is reluctant to change its existing market tactics and is not very flexible. It has not carried out localization and adjusted down the price of individual products in due course, nor has the model matching more consideration of China’s national conditions.

Siemens invests heavily in the UK today. Earlier, the British “Guardian” reported that in 2013, the number of wind power generation and wind power projects in the United Kingdom dropped significantly, and the UK’s wind power industry, especially offshore wind power, shrank. According to statistics, in recent months, many energy companies have canceled British wind power offshore projects, which is very unfavorable for the development of offshore wind power in the United Kingdom. Against such a backdrop, Siemens invests in the UK with courage, and it seems to have broken through its conservative and robust development path. However, Siemens must also fully consider the basic national conditions of the UK wind power market and do a good job in localization research in order to lay a good foundation for this investment.