Harland & Wolff has signed a contract to carry out the fabrication and load-out of eight of the jacket foundations for the 450MW Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind farm off the east coast of Scotland.
The deal is between Neart na Gaoithe owners EDF Renewables and ESB, the tier one service provider Saipem and InfraStrata, owner of Harland & Wolff.
Work will start on 1 July, with Harland & Wolff using its Methil facilities in Fife, recently acquired from BiFab.
About 290 direct and indirect jobs will be created by the contract.
Additional support may be provided as required by the company’s other facilities in Arnish, Appledore and Belfast with Saipem’s consent and should the need arise.
Saipem will install the foundations.
Neart na Gaoithe project director Matthias Haag said: “This is an important day, for the offshore wind sector in Scotland and for our project.
“When we announced our main contractors in 2019, we made clear our commitment to the Scottish supply chain and the role it has to play in the construction of NnG.
“That’s why this contract signing is such good news. We are pleased the contract has been awarded to Harland & Wolff with the bulk of the work taking place in Scotland.
“With the Port of Dundee supporting the project as NnG’s marine hub, the Port of Leith as the marshalling point for the pile casings and planning permission recently granted for an operations and maintenance base at Eyemouth Harbour, Harland & Wolff joining our project is yet further evidence of our commitment to Scotland.”
Saipem head of offshore new energies in E&C offshore division Mauro Piasere said: “The Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind farm is a key project for Saipem in an area of rising growth and potential such as the North Sea.
“The execution by InfraStrata stands to demonstrate the possibility for the North Sea fabrication industry to play a competitive role in the renewables market.
“Our vision is to create value in those countries where we operate and this collaboration with InfraStrata confirms this and allows us to contribute to the country’s system involving the local supply chain.”
InfraStrata chief executive John Wood said: “We are delighted to have entered into this contract with Saipem. This contract paves the way for the execution and delivery of future fabrication contracts, a significant number of which are currently in advanced negotiations.
“The geographical proximity of our Methil facility to the North Sea makes it an ideal site for fabrication and load-out to wind farm projects such as this.
“More importantly, it validates our strategic vision of expanding the Group’s fabrication footprint into regions that are strategically located within close proximity to major wind farm projects.
“This will enable us to spread work streams across our facilities to drive down costs, deliver against tight schedules and, crucially, align ourselves to the government’s goal of providing wind generated power to all homes in the UK by 2030.
“I am confident that this is only the beginning of a stream of projects in our pipeline that we expect come to fruition.
“We are hugely excited about the massive potential that this first contract has unlocked, and we look forward to working with Saipem to successfully deliver under it.”
RenewableUK deputy chief executive Melanie Onn said: “It’s great to see an iconic company like Harland & Wolff creating 290 Scottish jobs with a big contract to manufacture steel foundations for a major Scottish offshore wind farm, especially as this will take place at the former BiFab site at Methil in Fife generating new opportunities there.”