Sites available if Tesla wants to move in
THE Welsh Government said it has a numbers of sites that would be able to accommodate any plans from serial entrepreneur Elon Musk to establish his first Tesla factory in the UK.
The South African-born Tesla boss flew into the UK on a private jet last weekend, fuelling rumours he is still mulling a electric vehicle factory in the UK.
There has been further speculation that UK Government ministers have been frantically searching for a site capable of housing the huge electric car brand, which would provide a huge boost for jobs both directly and in the wider supply chain if realised.
The Welsh Government were asked if they were aware of an investment requirement from Tesla and whether it had officially made the case for any project being located in Wales.
A Welsh Government spokesman said: “While we cannot comment on speculation, we are in continuous dialogue with the UK Government’s Department for International Trade on locations for new automotive investment as the industry migrates away from traditional fossil fuels. Wales is well positioned to accommodate this type of investment, with a number of sites that could offer a prime location for inward investment opportunities.”
Sites that could accommodate a Tesla factory, with the relevant energy, transport and broadband infrastructure, include the former Ford factory at Bridgend and the 100-acre development site adjoining it known as Brocastle, which the Welsh Government owns and where it has started enabling work with a view to attracting private sector investment.
Ineos Automotive had agreed to locate a 500 job factory at the Brocastle site for its new Land Rover inspired Grenadier vehicle. However, last year it pulled the project and instead will now produce the new vehicle at a former Mercedes-Benz factory in France.
On the marketing of the Ford engine plant, which closed last year with more than 1,000 job losses, the Welsh Government said it continues to put it forward for inward investment opportunities. It has received and appraised more than 30 enquiries from a range of organisations. The de-commissioning of the plant is being undertaken by Ford’s land division
There are also potential sites in Flintshire in North Wales, which the UK Government has already identified as having the potential to accommodate a gigafactory for electric vehicle battery production.
Baglan in Port Talbot, with its access to a deep port, could also be a contender, particularly if it came under a freeport. The UK Government wants at least one freeport in Wales. However, it would need backing from the Welsh Government which it is understood is looking for the UK Government to match funding it is providing for freeports in England.
A Tesla factory could also be located at the Welsh Governmentowned Bro Tathan Business Park at St Athan in the Vale of Glamorgan.
Start-up firm BritishVolt had identified the site, subject to planning and fundraising of more than £1bn, for an electric vehicle battery gigafactory, which it said would create more than 3,000 direct jobs.
It has selected the site after assessing 44 locations across the UK, before pulling out of its memorandum of understanding for the project with the Welsh Government last December.
It has now identified a site in Blyth in the northeast of England for the project. The reason given at the time, in a joint statement between BritishVolt and the Welsh Government, was that the St Athan site wouldn’t be able to deliver on the project’s tight moving to production time frame.
However, the idea that a ready-to-go Welsh Government-owned site, with planning unlikely to be a problem, couldn’t have delivered a factory before Blyth seems a bit of a credibility stretch.
The reality is that the Welsh Government didn’t have the project as a top priority, which suggests it could have had concerns over the ability of BritishVolt to raise the required finance, or a financial ask of it was deemed as being too much.