The operator of the Port of Great Yarmouth has made a case for the site to be considered as a strategic offshore wind port by the UK Government.
The Port of Great Yarmouth is ready to support Boris Johnson’s pledge to power every home in the UK with offshore wind energy within a decade, Peel Ports stated.
At the recent Conservative party conference, the Prime Minister said £160m would go towards upgrading ports and factories for building turbines to help the country “build back greener”.
The Port of Great Yarmouth, which has more than 50 years’ experience in delivering offshore projects, has invested £12m in upgrading its quays, equipment and storage areas to support the industry.
The port’s location is close to the Southern North Sea, which has the largest concentration of offshore wind projects in the world.
The majority of these are within 140 km of the deepwater port, which makes it “ideally positioned” to deliver large-scale offshore projects to meet government targets, stated Peel Ports.
Peel Ports great Yarmouth port director Richard Goffin said: “We welcome the PM’s announcement that he is planning to invest in a sector that we have always identified as key to meeting targets for greener energy production.
“At Great Yarmouth, we have already invested significantly in our facilities to support the sector and we have a proven track record of delivering big offshore energy projects.
“We were selected to act as the marshalling harbour for the Galloper wind farm and more recently the East Anglia 1 wind farm that became fully operational this year.”
Johnson’s initial commitment is the first stage of a 10-point plan for a “green industrial revolution”.
The Government will reveal more detail later this year to “accelerate progress” towards net zero emissions by 2050.
To meet these targets, Peel Ports Great Yarmouth is continuing to invest in its facilities, with significant development plans in the pipeline, including the possibility to expand the port’s footprint by land reclamation.
In September, Norfolk County Council announced £6m of funding to deliver an offshore energy operations and maintenance campus at the port.
The investment aims to rejuvenate parts of land owned by Great Yarmouth Borough Council and Peel Ports Great Yarmouth to create a campus located at the entrance of the River Yare.
Goffin added: “We’re already capable of supporting all wind farm industry port operations, including surveying, manufacturing, pre-assembly, installation and commissioning, operational and maintenance, and decommissioning.
“However, we are continually investing in our site, quays and facilities to ensure we can host any scale of offshore projects.
“As well as the creation of the O&M campus, there is also the potential for us to add further land for development including a Southern terminal creating an extra 10 hectares of outside storage space, an additional 350m quay, a new heavy lift pad area and options for both RoRo and LoLo operations.”