MABEY Bridge is ready to roll out the first completed section of an 80-metre wind turbine tower from its new £38 million factory in Newhouse, Chepstow.

The UK's only indigenous producer of onshore wind turbine towers has finished work on a 26.6-metre-long structure, destined for the Seamer wind farm in North Yorkshire.

It tapers from 3.9 metres in diameter to 3.45 metres and will require a very long low loader to reach its destination.

Work will now begin on two further sections, one larger in average diameter and one smaller, to complete the tower.

While best known for bridge construction, Mabey Bridge is now channelling its engineering expertise into wind energy, creating 240 new skilled jobs in the region.

Last year the company secured a contract to produce five steel tubular towers and 19 foundation rings for Repower, one of the UK's biggest suppliers of wind energy. 

Each tower weighs 150 tonnes and the new Mabey Bridge plant will soon have the capability to produce 300 of these every year. 

Five towers and rings will be stationed at the Seamer wind farm in North Yorkshire while four rings have already been installed at the Low Spinney wind farm near Lutterworth, Leicestershire.

Alex Smale, UK director of Mabey Bridge, said: "The completion of the first wind tower section is a proud moment and a huge milestone for us after all the hard work and investment that has gone into our new facility over the past year."