Able Group has confirmed its planned Able Marine Energy Park (AMEP) will be “inevitably delayed” by SeAH’s decision to pull the plug on an agreement to build a monopile factory at the site.
Peter Stephenson, Able’s executive chairman, said that development of AMEP (illustrated) on the South Bank of the Humber Estuary would move forward despite the Korean steel manufacturer’s “disappointing” decision to move its proposed factory to Teesside.
Stephenson argued that Siemens Gamesa’s unprecedented success in winning turbine orders for offshore wind projects being submitted into the current CfD round was indirectly to blame for SeAH’s move.
He said: “The AMEP project needs to secure commitment from other key manufacturers. They, in turn, need to secure their own initial orders to justify their investment. Their immediate opportunity was within the soon to be completed (April/July) CfD allocation Round 4 process for c. 7.0GW of new installed offshore wind capacity.
“However, as things stand Siemens Gamesa – who supply blades from an existing UK facility (Hull) – have had unprecedented success in this round and at the significant expense of their competitors seeking to establish facilities at AMEP.”
Stephenson added that SeAH has secured a monopile order and need to start constructing its facilities in Q2 2022 but that Able “cannot commit” to quay construction at AMEP until it has a minimum of two key manufacturers to provide guaranteed income streams.
The chairman also hit out at Teesworks, where SeAH has chosen to build the monopile plant, arguing that Able finds itself competing with a taxpayer-funded development.
“Whilst recognising that AMEP has been offered grant support from Government, the reality is that this pales into insignificance compared to the levels of subsidy with which we now have to compete against”, he said.
Able is now looking to annual CfD auctions as a lifeline for the energy park.
BEIS announced last week that it is planning to hold the auctions every year from March 2023 and Stephenson believes that this, in turn, “should provide the level of activity to enable progress”.
Local MP Martin Vickers has meanwhile voiced disappointment with SeAH’s decision and said he and Greater Grimsby MP Lia Nici have already raised the issue with Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Vickers, whose Cleethorpes constituency includes the proposed site for AMEP, added that SeAH’s participation was crucial to the project and that ministerial colleagues “are looking into the circumstances” of what happened.