Neart na Gaoithe (NnG) Offshore Wind has contracted two Scottish based businesses to construct its operations and maintenance (O&M) Base at Eyemouth Harbour, Scotland.
Muir Construction, based in Inverkeithing, Fife, has been appointed to design and build NnG’s three storey, 1040 square-metre main O&M building and its two storey, 538 square-metre storage warehouse.
Inland and Coastal, of Lossiemouth, Moray, will design, manufacture and install the harbour’s new pontoon on the marine side of the harbour to make the basin accessible to crew transfer vessels and technicians.
The O&M building will house the office, warehouse and staff welfare facilities required to support the servicing of NnG once the wind farm is fully operational.
Muir Construction has started enabling works with construction expected to start this month, while Inland and Coastal has completed the pontoon design with fabrication to get under way this month and installation to start later this year.
NnG project director Matthias Haag said: “I’m really pleased to welcome Muir Construction and Inland and Coastal to the NnG project.
“We are fully committed to using the Scottish supply chain wherever possible and these two fantastic companies join a long list of Scottish business who are supporting delivery of this hugely important infrastructure project for Scotland.
“Both have a wealth of experience and expertise in their field, and I look forward to working closely with them on the construction of our O&M base and pontoon.
“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.”
Muir Construction business development director David Fairweather said: “Working in the renewables sector and particularly with NnG, has been one of the most pro-active and collaborative procurement experiences encountered by us at Muir Construction.
“I believe the positive impact that power generation of this nature enables, flows through to the attitude of the delivery team, building on what we hope will be a long-term relationship for Muir Construction with the renewables sector.
“Bringing our expertise and experience of working in port and quay side locations has been very satisfying and working closely with NnG and Eyemouth Harbour Trust is something we are very much looking forward to.”
Inland and Coastal senior commercial manager Vincent Carey said “We are delighted to be involved in such a keystone project and have the opportunity to contribute to a renewable energy future for Scotland and the rest of the UK.
“The offshore wind industry is a very young and exciting sector to be working in at present. At Inland and Coastal we are well placed to provide the highest level of service and solutions thanks to our highly experienced in-house design team.
“We look forward to working with NnG to deliver a high quality berthing pontoon facility at Eyemouth to ensure safe access to vessels long in to the future.”
NnG, which is jointly owned by EDF Renewables UK and ESB, signed a lease with Eyemouth Harbour Trust in February that saw the harbour confirmed as O&M base for the project’s 25-year lifespan.
The O&M base 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.
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.