Speaking to Windpower TV at the show in Manchester, Thompson said the UK was already well placed for local sourcing of services to the offshore wind industry thanks to its "maritime engineering and oil and gas background".
"Further ahead we are looking towards production facilities in the UK, that will be the next big step for the industry," added Thompson.
When considering the cost implications of local content sourcing, Thompson said the industry had to take a common sense approach.
"Simply driving local content sourcing for the sake of it actually has the effect of increasing costs," he said.
"We are seeing that with some of the projects in other European countries, and you are seeing costs that we just cannot afford in the UK."
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