The Green Village News Tagged ‘vestas blades’

Vestas Workers Lose The Battle To Keep Wind Turbine Factory Open

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009

vesta blades - wind turbineAfter 18 days of sit in protests from 11 workers trying to get their voices heard and save the Vestas Blades factory on the Isle of Wight the fight is over. A court order granted last week gave the authorisation for bailiffs to forcibly remove the sit-in protesters from the building.

The wind turbine factory was the only wind turbine manufacturing plant in the UK, which was originally looked at to be converted to make wind turbine blades that were tailored to the UK. Vestas backtracked on the decision however, blaming the UK planning system. The company also attributed the closing of the factory to insufficient demand in the UK for wind turbines, claims which come despite commitments to investing in more renewable energy from the UK government, and around the world.

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Friends Of The Earth Call On Government To Save British Wind Power Jobs

Thursday, July 16th, 2009

erecting a wind turbine (photograph: cradlehall2008 via flickr)The day after the release of the DECC White Paper announcing the government’s intention to invest more in wind power, committing to a target of 30% of the country’s energy to be generated through renewable energy sources by 2020 and promising the creation of jobs in the environment sector, environmental campaigners Friends of the Earth have called for the government to safeguard the jobs we already have.

Vestas Blades wind turbine factory on the Isle of Wight, home to 600 jobs, is due to close in July, and FOE have joined forces with trade union ‘Unite’ and are calling on people to show their support for the UK’s only wind turbine manufacturers by sending letters to Lord Mandelson, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, asking him to act to save the UK’s wind industry.

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Isle of Wight Wind Turbine Factory To Close

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009

wind turbineVestas Blades, Britain’s only wind turbine manufacturing factory, shut down operations and announced closure yesterday. The decision to close down has been blamed on a lack of demand for wind turbine parts in Northern Europe and the effects of the global financial problems currently affecting the world.

Workers at the plant have been given 90 days’ notice of the imminent redundancies, however environmental campaigners Greenpeace have questioned whether Gordon Brown could have done more to prevent the factory having to close down, commenting that although last week’s Budget commitment is a positive move, it is “too little too late”.

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