An icy wind sweeps across the mouth of the Humber, immersing the residents of Kingston Upon Hull in an unrelenting freeze. Located in East Yorkshire and nestled on East coast of the UK, the population of 250,000 'Hullensians' are hardened to the ferocious winds which batter the area. And yet, whilst accustomed to the harsh conditions carried from across the North Sea, this new storm is set apart from the rest. This freeze isn't meteorologic, it economic and its starting to bite hard.
A highly prosperous city between the 18th century and the second world war, Hull developed a world leading ports and fishing industry which served the whole of Britain. Unfortunately, it was the citys excellence in shipping that lead to its downfall. After heavy bombing by the Germans in 1941, Hull struggled to reform itself to its former glory, not helped in part by a detailed plan authored by architect Edwin Lutyens which took many years to build.
Having enjoyed the economic boom of the last few years, the city is now starting to feel a pinch with which the rest of the country is so familiar. Some traditional 'blue-collar' industries are battening the hatches and operating on a four day week, whilst the newer 'white-collar' industries are looking to reduce investment and costs. Whilst protecting itself against the current financial climate, Hull needs to also position itself for new opportunities on the horizon and secure a lucrative industry for generations of 'Hullensians' to come.
Hull is no stranger to the power of wind. E.ONs tentative 7-tubine, 9.1MW wind farm at Out Newton was build in 2002, in the face of considerable opposition. Whilst not discouraged, E.ON have decided to locate their latest farm proposals, for the Humber Gateway Offshore Wind Farm, five miles from the shore. Such a move will improve the stability of the electrity supply, whilst minimising objections from concerned locals. Friends of the Earth energy campaigner Nick Rau said FoE was delighted with the plans.
So, providing the plans for the Humber Gateway Offshore Wind Farm are approved, how will the population of East Yorkshire benefit from such a development?
The offshore wind industry has the potential to be a major employer in and around the central North Sea and Hull is geographically well situated to take advantage of this. However, training and personal development will have to be provided if the community is going to be able to cater for the massive array of skills that offshore wind requires. Herein lies the crux of the matter. Over time, one of two things will happen. Either Hull will wake up to the fact that they have a whole new world of wind at their feet and embrace the reforms needed to supply this industry, or they'll sit back and let others come in and do the work for them. The former option will require a lot of co-ordination and hard-graft, the latter will result in the city missing out on a potential gold mine.
One hopes that with the recent Crown Estate announcement of another central east coast 'preferred windfarm zone' (to be awarded next year), Hull City Council and Hull University will get their heads together and devise a set of academic and vocational courses to meet the needs of wind developers in the future. And maybe, maybe if they can get that done, the city and the people of Hull will be able to ride the gulf stream of good fortune created by the power of wind.
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