MHI Vestas has moved into Able Seaton Port (ASP) in Hartlepool in preparation for the installation of its turbines for the 857MW Triton Knoll offshore wind farm in the UK.
ASP will serve as the logistics and pre-assembly hub for the project’s 90 V164-95MW turbines, with components expected to arrive from next month.
Installation of the turbines will start in early 2021.
Turbine tower sections, blades and nacelles will be marshalled and pre-assembled at ASP, before being loaded onto vessels for transport to the wind farm site, 32 km off the Lincolnshire coast.
As part of preparations, technicians from local suppliers, including Global Wind Service, Dawson and Boston Energy, as well as MHI Vestas employees are now working onsite.
The main crane and Self-Propelled Modular Transporter to be used at ASP for moving turbine components will be supplied by Weldex, based out of Alfreton.
RWE Renewables, in partnership with J-Power and Kansai Electric Power, is developing Triton Knoll.
Each turbine consists of 80m long blades, which are manufactured at MHI Vestas’ facility on the Isle of Wight, and finished at its Fawley plant across the Solent in south England.
The Fawley facility is a decommissioned, oil-fired power plant that has been repurposed as a painting and logistics facility for the blades.
MHI Vestas UK country manager Julian Brown said: “MHI Vestas’ commitment to the UK is demonstrated by the local benefits we have prioritised for the Triton Knoll project.
“Able UK’s close collaboration with MHI Vestas to prepare the ASP site for Triton Knoll has made it an easy choice to use this top-class facility.
“The site covers approximately 140,000 square metres with heavy duty deep water quays, a vital pre-requisite for a project the scale of Triton Knoll.
“The Triton Knoll project will deliver clean, domestic offshore wind power to UK customers with added national benefits.
“Not only will most of our suppliers at ASP be British companies, but the vast majority of the employees involved will also be from the UK.”
Able UK executive chairman Peter Stephenson added: “We have enjoyed a long and constructive relationship with Triton Knoll and MHI Vestas culminating in their selection of ASP – 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.
“The offshore wind sector is potentially on the cusp of something very special. We have a clear and unambiguous policy from Whitehall through the Sector Deal in the Industrial Strategy, and the increasingly demanding targets for both power generation and the extent of UK content.
“Combine this with the sector’s extraordinary efforts in terms of developing new products and significantly reducing costs and the sector is set to become a dominant factor in a post Covid-19 UK economy.”