Vattenfall and Peel Ports expect to finalise an agreement in the summer that will make the port of Great Yarmouth the operations base for the 1.8GW Norfolk Vanguard and 1.8GW Norfolk Boreas offshore wind farms off the east coast of England.
The 25-year deal could be the trigger for further investment in the local Norfolk supply chain, the companies said.
Vattenfall project manager for Norfolk Vanguard Ruari Lean said: “We are making substantial progress with Peel Ports on an agreement to locate our operations base at the Great Yarmouth facility.”
He added that, if the company builds the projects, between 300 and 400 jobs would be created during construction, while up to 150 local technicians would be expected to maintain the wind farms once operational.
“But what we think is really exciting is that we know a potential multi-billion-pound investment in our wind farms would encourage the supply chain to cluster around us and other operators off East Anglia,” he said.
Peel Ports Great Yarmouth director Richard Goffin said: “This agreement will leverage Great Yarmouth’s position as the east of England’s most successful offshore energy hub and attract further investment in the existing world-class supply chain, bringing a host of employment and economic growth opportunities to the region.”
Vanguard is due for a consent determination in the UK next year while Boreas is on track for a 2020 planning decision.
Image: Great Yarmouth port (Peel Ports)
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By EBS