Government grants Vestas £6m – but factory will still close

Nick Mathiason
The Guardian, Tuesday 28 July 2009
The government yesterday awarded Vestas Technology £6m but the cash will not stop the Danish turbine manufacturer from controversially shutting its Isle of Wight factory on Friday.
As 25 Vestas workers continued to occupy the factory yesterday, energy secretary Ed Miliband was heckled by protesters over the closure of the renewable energy business while he was in Oxford on ministerial business.
A possession order will be sought by Vestas to regain control of the factory at court on Wednesday. The sit-in by the non-unionised staff began last Tuesday.
The £6m award will go towards Vestas's offshore research and development division.
Vestas claims it has to close its manufacturing unit with the loss of 600 jobs because the UK onshore wind market is not growing fast enough. It says projects are slowed down by planning objections. It will move production to Colorado in the United States.
But Edward Maltby, of Workers' Climate Action, which is leading the protests outside the Vestas factory, said: "£6m is pocket money. It's not a significant investment. Why are we throwing money at this company? We should nationalise it because Vestas is not prepared to behave decently."
The government yesterday attempted to unlock delayed onshore wind projects by launching a £1bn loan package to small and medium-sized green energy firms that have found it impossible to raise money in the credit crisis, even for profitable schemes.
The British Wind Energy Association, the trade body, welcomed the fund and said it would lead to a surge in new renewable projects. The association said the UK has 900 megawatts of onshore wind power and 1,700 megawatts offshore. But it says there are 6,000 megawatts of wind schemes with planning permission that lack funding – the schemes could triple UK wind capacity.
The £1bn fund is a partnership involving Royal Bank of Scotland, Lloyds Banking Group, BNP Paribas and the European Investment Bank.
Miliband said: "The money … will help us generate green jobs on top of our success as the leading country in the world for generating offshore wind. Alongside these proposals, we are reforming planning laws, finding new ways of working with local communities and are determined to persuade people that we need a significant increase in onshore wind as part of the UK's future energy mix."