Innogy and partners have reached financial close on the 860MW Triton Knoll offshore wind farm off the east coast of England.
The company has agreed a raft of contracts for the project, including MHI Vestas which will supply 90 V164-9.5MW turbines.
MHI Vestas will set up a pre-assembly operation at Able UK’s Seaton Port in Teesside, covering enabling works to load out. Tower sections, blades and nacelles will be assembled at the port.
The work could create around 100 new mainly local jobs and generate £16m in investment in new infrastructure and equipment.
Seaway Heavy Lifting has confirmed that it will transport and install foundations for the 90 turbines and two offshore substations, as first reported by subscriber-only reNEWS.
Crane vessel Stanislav Yudin will carry out the work in 2020, said SHL, which is part of Subsea 7 Renewables & Heavy Lifting.
Its senior vice president Steph McNeill said: “Seaway Heavy Lifting has a long track record of successful and safe balance of plant installation for renewable energy projects in the North Sea. We look forward to supporting Innogy in completing the development of the Triton Knoll wind farm offshore.”
A consortium of NKT and Boskalis has been confirmed as export and array cable supplier and installer, respectively.
Work scope covers delivery and installation of two 50km export wires and 97 66kV array cables.
The cables will be supplied in the fourth quarter of 2019 and second quarter of 2020, with installation in the latter year.
Boskalis said the contract value to the company is €90m, while the value for NKT is €115m.
NKT president and chief executive Michael Hedegaard Lyng said: “With this firm order, I look forward to further building our co-operation with the project owner of Triton Knoll, and also to being a substantial and reliable partner in the green transformation of the UK and European power supply.”
Triton Knoll has also agreed a memorandum of understanding with ABP to use its Grimsby port as the wind farm’s long-term operations and maintenance base. The O&M work has the potential to support up to 170 direct and indirect long term jobs.
Innogy owns 59% of Triton Knoll and is managing construction on behalf of partners J-Power (25%) and Kansai Electric Power(16%).
Triton Knoll project director Julian Garnsey said: “This is a great moment for Triton Knoll and the UK offshore wind industry as we formally secure the means to deliver around £2bn of new UK energy infrastructure.
“Triton Knoll expects to deliver at least 50% of our investment with UK firms over the project’s lifecycle and at the height of construction we expect to see over 3000 people working on the project.
“We are delighted to be expanding the project’s UK footprint with MHI Vestas and these two east coast ports. The subsequent investment in Able UK’s Seaton port facility represents a great opportunity to enhance offshore wind port facilities within the Northern Powerhouse region.”
Able UK will develop an additional 140 metres of new heavy-duty quayside at the port, and invest in equipment and facilities to support delivery of Triton Knoll.
Able UK executive chairman Peter Stephenson said: “We have enjoyed a long and constructive relationship with Triton Knoll culminating in today’s announcement – it’s a massive vote of confidence in the UK, ourselves and the Teesside supply chain. Our sustained investment means we can provide a bespoke and tailor-made solution for Triton Knoll.
“This contract effectively completes Able’s offshore wind CV and is very much the start of something that will continue to grow.”
Image: MHI Vestas
Triton nails financial close
By EBS