Solar panels at the Port of Hull
At the end of the visit, Simon Bird, Regional Director of ABP, shared his opinion on the work in progress in the ports of Humber:
“The fact that such an important personality [as Alok Sharma]in the fight against climate change, attended the launch helps underline what many have known for some time: that the Humber is the place to be to find inspiration on how to decarbonize our economy .
“I am delighted to say that ABP’s ports in the Humber are at the center of this exciting trend.
“For a few years now, ABP in the Humber has been bringing our own house in order on environmental issues. We have created the UK’s two largest rooftop solar power installations in the ports of Immingham and Hull and are in the process of installing a major installation of electric vehicle charging stations across the port area. The new cranes and mobile installations are at the forefront of efficiency and low emissions.
“The Humber is currently the epicenter of offshore wind activity for the whole world. The Siemens Gamesa wind turbine blade manufacturing facility in Green Port Hull has gone from strength to strength since opening in 2017 and is currently undergoing major expansion. This expansion is to accommodate the larger blades that are needed as the industry continuously grows.
“Meanwhile, across the water in the Port of Grimsby, companies like Orsted and RWE have made the port the biggest hub for the operation and maintenance of offshore wind farms anywhere on the planet. All of this work has created new skilled jobs in the area and has shown how the Humber is ideally placed to serve this growing industry.
“Alongside these tremendous efforts, a number of our other customers are involved in exciting projects to pave the way for decarbonization. A good example of this is Zero Carbon Humber. The project is a partnership between many ABP customers in the Humber, including British Steel, Drax, Equinor, PX Group, Centrica and Uniper, who have come together with a shared vision to transform the Humber into the first net zero carbon cluster of the UK by 2040. , 10 years ahead of the government’s published target. Given that the Humber is currently the UK’s biggest carbon polluting region, the scale of ambition is palpable.
“The project will develop a shared trans-regional pipeline to the North Sea for low-carbon hydrogen and to capture and store carbon emissions. This will help establish a carbon storage economy on a truly transformative scale and potentially create 49,000 jobs.
“The Humber Freeport, which I chair, also has a vision to be a leading player in decarbonisation. The new entity, once operational, will actively support investment by businesses in the Humber that will seek to decarbonise and will be a major catalyst for driving investment in our region.
“What’s particularly exciting is that it’s the Humber Ports that are the one thing that all of these projects have in common. Ports, which in the past hosted highly polluting industries, are now a service catalyst for some of the most pioneering work to reduce our environmental impact and create green jobs for the future.