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Isle Of Wight Vestas Investment Set To Create 50 New Jobs

Another 50 jobs are set to be created at the Isle of Wight's Vestas base after it announced plans to build new wind turbines on the Island.

The company said its new manufacturing line here will support turbine deliveries to a European offshore wind project.

Isle of Wight MP Bob Seely said:

 "I’ve talked with Vestas this morning, who confirmed the great news about their investment in the Island. In the past months, Vestas have been talking to Government about building the new generation of larger, 85-metre, wind turbine blades here on the Island.

“This decision is important not only for high-quality jobs for Islanders but it’s also important for Britain as we increase the supply of renewable energy. I understand that there will be another 50 roles at Vestas, bringing their total Island workforce to 700."

Johnny Høy Henriksen, COO Northern & Central Europe, said:

“Introducing a new V174-9.5 MW manufacturing line at Isle of Wight will help boost supply of a key component for the European market and it underlines how Vestas' flexible manufacturing setup ensures a competitive product offering to our customers.

"Vestas has invested in the UK for 20 years, and we have great pride in the technical expertise in blade manufacturing that we have developed at our Isle of Wight plant."

The Isle of Wight plant currently produces V164 turbine blades and has delivered over 1,000 blades to North European markets, including more than £360m worth of exports since 2014.

In the past five years, Vestas has delivered V164 blades from the Isle of Wight to seven of the UK’s largest offshore wind projects.

Mr Seely added:

"This is a major vote of confidence in the Island and in Islanders to deliver very high-quality manufacturing in green energy. We should be proud of the role that the Island is playing. I thank Vestas for their investment and I’ll be working with them to make sure that we continue to develop the Island as a national hub of green energy.”

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