UK energy equipment and solutions provider Schneider Electric has announced that it will invest £42 million in a manufacturing facility that will be almost triple the size of its existing Scarborough facility.
Schneider Electric specialises in the manufacture of low-voltage switchgears which protect and distribute electricity, making the technology critical to the UK’s move to electrify carbon-dense sectors including transport and heating.
The site, which will also be based in Scarborough, is pitched as a blueprint for sustainable design and operations in the manufacturing industry. It is poised to become a net zero plant: the site will use technology to reduce energy waste and maximise the use of renewable energy.
Schneider Electric expects the manufacturing plant to be net zero in Scope 1 and 2 emissions when it opens in 2025. Further, 50% of the roof will be covered by solar panels, and the solar energy system will produce 30% of its energy. Energy consumed from the grid will be “renewable certified”.
Employees at the plant will have access to 30 on-site EV chargers. Schneider Electric also sees the development creating 200 new jobs to meet the increased demand for electrical equipment. Scarborough has long been a manufacturing base for the company, which currently employs about 450 people.
According to Business and Trade secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, the £42 million investment will safeguard existing jobs as well as creating new ones — “a mission at the heart of this government”.
Kelly Becker, president at Schneider Electric, UK & Ireland, Belgium & Netherlands, emphasised the company’s investment in sustainability, delivering “decarbonisation in the UK, while bolstering the creation of local, green jobs in Yorkshire”.
She added: “The new facility in Scarborough represents a pillar of innovation in net-zero, and one which will be an industry benchmark for the transition to sustainable, energy efficient buildings.”
UK green jobs
Industry body Solar Energy UK estimates that 60,000 people will be needed to meet the demand for solar panel installations alone by the 2030s. The green skills gap and perceived lack of a workforce equipped for the transition to net zero exists alongside a huge demand from the industry for staff.
Further, criticisms of the Labour government’s climate policy often centre on the job losses that will come from closing down the North Sea’s oil and gas industry: the Scottish Conservatives have voiced concerns over the impact on jobs, accusing Labour of “wanting to turn off the North Sea”.
One of the five key functions of Great British Energy, Labour’s flagship publicly owned energy company, is to build supply chains across the UK, boosting energy independence and creating jobs. The party’s manifesto promised that in the process of making Britain a clean energy superpower, it would create 650,000 new high-quality jobs.
