High energy costs trigger closure of major UK wind turbine supplier

Telegraph

5 hours ago

A major supplier to Britain's green energy industry is set to close after its Japanese owner failed to clinch a rescue deal for the company and its 250 workers.
Wigan-based Electric Glass Fiber UK (EGFU), which is owned by Nippon Electric Glass (NEG), makes vital components used in wind turbines and electric cars. Its closure puts net zero supply chains under threat.
Both are seen by the Government as critical to its industrial strategy amid moves to decarbonise the British economy and to build up domestic supplies of critical products at a time of tariffs, wars and mounting geopolitical rivalries.
The British operation was profitable as recently as 2022, but made losses of £3m in 2023, mounting to £12m in 2024, according to the Japanese owner, which first invested in the UK arm in 2016.
It blamed competition from Chinese imports as well as the rising cost of raw materials, in financial statements published in last year, which could only be partially passed on to customers in the form of higher prices.
The business also said rising energy prices were putting pressure on operations.
Britain's manufacturers typically pay far higher bills than competitors in countries including France and Germany, even though much of the Continent has been exposed to higher gas and electricity costs since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
British and European authorities sought to protect domestic fibreglass manufacturers from perceived unfair competition from China, imposing 'anti-dumping' tariffs on imports from the world's second-largest economy in 2020.
The measures are set to run until early next year. Most of the company's sales go to European customers.
But the tariffs were not sufficient to preserve the Wigan plant.
NEG said the closure of the site, just west of Manchester, came despite intense efforts to find an alternative. Production will cease later this month.
'Voluntary liquidation'
The parent company said:'NEG has considered various options, including the possibility of selling EGFU, forming strategic partnerships, or cessation of its business activities during the approximately two and a half month strategic review period.
'In order to quickly rebuild our composites business, we have determined to cease EGFU's operation and proceed with preparations for voluntary liquidation.'
The closure comes after Sir Keir Starmer stepped in to rescue British Steel, taking control of the business as the Prime Minister deemed the Scunthorpe site to be critical to the country's industrial security.
In that instance, a Chinese owner's planned closure would have threatened the nation's remaining steel production capacity, with ramifications for industries from construction to defence at a time when the Government wants both of those sectors to ramp up output urgently.