Gamesa Examining Ports in U.K. for Offshore Wind Turbines Plant

Spain’s largest wind turbines maker plans to be active in the U.K.’s third round of offshore wind energy development. Developers in the U.K. have been awarded licenses to build more than 40 gigawatts of offshore wind turbines in an industry the government has estimated could be worth 75 billion pounds ($108 billion) to the economy and create 70,000 jobs.

The U.K. coalition government including the Conservative and Liberal Democrat parties has said it aims to push the development of offshore wind farm after the outgoing Labour administration attracted companies including General Electric Co., Clipper Windpower Plc and Siemens AG to build wind turbines plants or research facilities in the country.

Wind farm developers including Iberdrola’s Scottish Power unit, RWE AG, Statoil ASA and Centrica Plc in January won licenses to build as many as 32,200 megawatts of wind turbines off the U.K., adding to 8,000 megawatts allotted in two previous rounds.

Gamesa, which is in talks with offshore wind turbine maker Bard Holdings GmbH to form an alliance, has said it may take a stake in the German company. 

Gamesa, USW Ratify Labor Agreement

Also Includes a New Gain-Sharing Incentive System, With Monthly Payouts Based On Achieving Quality, Productivity and Production Targets.
 
Gamesa Technology Corp. and the United Steelworkers (USW) have announced that a four-year Collective Bargaining Agreement for Gamesa’s Pennsylvania-based manufacturing and warehouse locations was voted on and approved by the work force on Friday, June 4th. The new agreement succeeds the initial Gamesa-USW agreement reached in 2007, and goes into effect immediately.

In addition to wage increases and benefit enhancements, the agreement also includes a new gain-sharing incentive system, with monthly payouts based on achieving quality, productivity and production targets.

In June 2008, American Rights at Work, one of the nation’s leading labor policy and advocacy organizations, honored Gamesa with the fourth annual “Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award in 2008” for setting the example of how private industry can harness the vast potential of renewable energy to create a stronger and more sustainable economy that benefits workers and their families.

Good Jobs First, in a February 2009 report, “High Road or Low Road? Job Quality in the New Green Economy,” profiled Gamesa as a green labor partner and noted that “the company is widely regarded as a model employer for the emerging U.S. green economy.”

Over 15 years of experience in energy technologies, primarily wind, Gamesa is the No. 1 in wind turbine design, manufacturing, installation and maintenance in Spain, and one of the largest in the world.

Gamesa has installed more than 18,000 MW of wind power capacity worldwide. The annual equivalent of this energy output amounts to more than 4 million tons of petroleum (TEP) per year and prevents the emission into the atmosphere of nearly 27 million tons of CO2 per year.

Gamesa is also one of the world’s leading companies in the development, construction and sale of wind farms, with more than 3,500 MW installed and a wind farm project pipeline totalling 22,000 MW at varying stages of development in Europe, America and Asia.

With 30 manufacturing facilities in Europe, USA, China and India, and 4,400 MW of annual manufacturing capacity, Gamesa has an international workforce of more than 6,300 people.

www.gamesacorp.com