Neart na Gaoithe (NnG) Offshore Wind Limited and Eyemouth Harbour Trust have signed a lease that confirms the harbour as the operations and maintenance base for the 450MW offshore wind farm off Scotland.
Construction of NnG’s three storey, 1040 square metre O&M building and its two storey, 538 square metre storage warehouse at Eyemouth Harbour will start next month.
The O&M building, designed by Corstorphine + Wright Architects, will house the office, warehouse and staff welfare facilities required to support the servicing of NnG once the wind farm is fully operational in 2023.
The investment in Eyemouth will provide up to 50 permanent jobs.
Additional benefits available to the residents of Eyemouth and the surrounding area include training, retraining and apprenticeship opportunities.
Last year, Scottish Borders Council’s planning committee approved plans jointly submitted by NnG and Eyemouth Harbour Trust, for the O&M building in Eyemouth.
NnG project director Matthias Haag said: “Today is a significant milestone for NnG and signals a truly green light for our new home in Eyemouth.
“Eyemouth is the perfect location for our O&M base and it’s testament to all the hard work of the NnG project team and the Eyemouth Harbour Trust that we have signed the lease for the building and can now start construction on site.
“NnG is expected to be fully operational by 2023 and I’m really pleased that as well as supporting the 25-year lifespan of the offshore wind farm the O&M base will bring with it fantastic socio-economic benefits for the town of Eyemouth and the local community.”
Onshore construction continues for NnG at various locations along the cable route which runs underground from Thorntonloch beach and into the Lammermuir Hills.
Offshore work started in August last year with seabed preparations carried out in advance of the pile casings being installed.