Production of the first wind-turbine blade for the East Anglia ONE offshore wind farm has been completed at Siemens Gamesa’s ‘state of the art’ factory at Green Port Hull.

It represents a significant milestone for the project located 43km off the Suffolk coast and is the first of 306 fibre-glass blades that will be made at the site.

With the blades comparable in length to the wingspan of an Airbus A380, this feat of engineering forms part of the contract between Scottish Power Renewables and Siemens Gamesa to manufacture and install the turbines for the wind farm.

The £2.5 billion East Anglia ONE project will see 102 Siemens Gamesa (www.siemensgamesa.com) turbines deployed, each with a capacity of 7MW.

Charlie Jordan, East Anglia ONE project director, said: “The manufacture of the first blade from Hull is a fantastic milestone in the development of our wind farm.

The fabrication of the blades at Siemens Gamesa’s facility in Hull demonstrates our commitment to spending over 50% of the project investment in the UK.”

Following production at the £160 million Green Port factory, the blades will be shipped down the coast to Great Yarmouth, where the turbine components will be pre-assembled after a £5 million co-investment to prepare Peel Ports Great Yarmouth for this work.

Andrew Elmes, Siemens Gamesa project manager, said: “We are proud to work alongside Scottish Power Renewables in delivering clean energy for the future.

“First Dutch F-35 rolls out in Fort WorthThe East Anglia ONE offshore wind farm is a world-leading project to be a part of, and it’s extra special to be able to support it from our amazing factory in Hull.”