Tucked away in a West Swindon business park, one of the town’s largest employers, RWE, is playing a significant role in helping to power the nation.
Based in Windmill Hill, the multinational energy company has had a presence in Wiltshire for the last 25 years (starting off as Npower) and now employs 1,300 people at its Swindon UK HQ.
The company – which is headquartered in Essen, Germany – operates in 30 countries across Europe, North America, and the Asia-Pacific region, employing roughly 20,000 people and manages an integrated portfolio of more than 40GW of installed capacity, including offshore and onshore wind, solar, hydro, biomass and gas-fired power plants. It is committed to phasing out coal by 2030 and reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.
Leader of Swindon Borough Council, Councillor Jim Robbins, was given a tour of the energy giant’s offices last week by Tom Glover, RWE’s UK Country Chair and Chair of the RWE UK Renewables Boards, to get a sense of the important role the company is playing in supplying energy to the National Grid and to learn more about some of the huge renewable projects RWE is involved in.
During the visit, Cllr Robbins was told how RWE currently supplies around 13% of the UK’s total power and shown plans for its two Dogger Bank South projects, where each plans to install a hundred 253m-high offshore wind turbines in the North Sea and, once both are fully operational, would be capable of generating approximately 3GW of electricity – enough to power around three million UK homes.
The Leader of the Council was also shown RWE’s plans for hydrogen and carbon capture facilities across the UK before seeing first hand how staff manage and maintain its 2,500 wind turbines across Europe around the clock.
Cllr Robbins said, “I’d like to extend a huge thanks to Tom and his team at RWE for taking the time to showcase the impressive work the company is doing in order to reach its net-zero carbon targets and its focus on renewable energy.
“It was fascinating to see first-hand the scale of the work RWE is doing here in Swindon and the vital role it plays in providing energy to the National Grid.
“Having such a major international business rooted in our borough for 25 years is something we can be very proud of. The company’s investment in renewable energy, hydrogen and carbon capture shows how Swindon is helping to shape a cleaner, more sustainable energy future, while providing high-quality jobs, which is at the heart of our greener and better Swindon missions.
“Companies like RWE are the bedrock of our buoyant local economy and through our new Economic Development Plan, our focus on inward investment and our plans to join the Thames Valley mayoral strategic authority, we want to see even more firms of this calibre choosing Swindon as a place to invest.”
Tom Glover, RWE’s UK Country Chair, said, “It was a real pleasure to welcome Councillor Robbins to our UK headquarters and to show how our Swindon-based team is playing a vital role in the future of the UK’s energy system. The expertise based here supports projects right across the country and demonstrates the national impact of what is delivered from Swindon.
“RWE is investing for the long term in secure, home-powered electricity, and our operational and development projects are helping to strengthen the UK’s electricity system while supporting the transition to a lower-carbon future. The constructive relationship we have with Swindon Borough Council helps create the conditions for that work to succeed.
“We are hugely proud of our Swindon roots and look forward to continuing our long-standing relationship with the Borough.”
RWE was this week (14th Jan) announced as the biggest winner in the UK’s record-breaking Allocation Round 7 (AR7) offshore wind auction, securing nearly 7GW of capacity.
Pictured above: Matt Peachey (SBC’s Director of Inclusive Growth), Alice Barrs (RWE’s Head of Corporate Affairs UK), Andrew Wells (SBC’s Head of Inward Investment and Inclusive Economy), Zoe Harrison (RWE’s Hydrogen Project Development Manager), Councillor Jim Robbins (Leader of Swindon Borough Council), Tom Glover (RWE’s UK Country Chair) and Fiona Auty (RWE’s Head of Energy Transition) (Image: Swindon Borough Council)
