Britain could lead world in offshore wind power

Business is brisk at Belfast’s Harland & Wolff shipyard, where the Titanic and her sister ships were built. A century later it is the booming offshore wind-power industry that has taken centre stage..

“People know us as a shipbuilder and that accounted for almost 100pc of our business as recently as 2003. Now we are 75 per cent offshore-renewables based,” said David McVeigh, the firm’s sales and marketing manager. “We’re working on our third offshore windfarm and on a tidal energy device. It’s very high-value, hi-tech, value-added work.”