by business editor Trevor Sturgess

The decision by Danish firm Vestas to express interest in building offshore wind turbines in Kent, potentially creating up to 2,000 jobs, is a coup for experts promoting the county as the right place for this work.

For six years, Locate in Kent and the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) have been working with manufacturers and offshore wind farm developers, telling them that, rather than locate in the North, factories close to proposed wind farms made logistical sense.

They were naturally keen to attract thousands of direct and supply chain jobs to Kent and reinforce its reputation for manufacturing.

Several sites in Medway and Sheppey were identified, including Grain, Kingsnorth and Sheerness.

Sources at Locate in Kent, the inward investment agency, disclosed that detailed talks with Vestas had been going on for around a year.

Today's announcement by Vestas and Peel Ports, operator of the Port of Sheerness, marks "the culmination of everything we've been striving and working for the last six years," a source said.

Officials have not given up hope of landing further deals in the years ahead.

The Vestas investment depends on assurances from the Government over its commitment to renewable energy generation.

The deal will only go ahead if the company receives orders to supply its V164-7.0MW turbines to UK wind farms.

Britain represents the world's largest offshore wind market and Vestas says it is "committed to working with the government and offshore wind stakeholders" to supply turbines.

A spokesman said: "Vestas is prepared to make the necessary, significant investment in turning the option into a full lease and building the planned new production facilities, thereby creating more than 2,000 direct and indirect new jobs - provided the V164-7.0MW order pipeline materialises as expected."