North East Port wins wind farm contract
Following recent news that the North East’s port of Hartlepool is to double its capacity (read more here), the port has received more good news after it was selected as the main construction logistics hub for the Teeside Offshore Windfarm Project after negotiations by owners PD Ports with EDF Energy Renewables and the other companies involved in the new development. The project will be developed over the next seven months with over one hundred people set to be involved in the offshore construction programme. They will be operating out of the project supply base established there. The project will see Hartlepool as the focal point for all materials and components to be installed in the new wind farm. Involved in the construction of the new wind farm will be Siemens, who will supply the turbines. In addition Van Oord UK, a sustainable engineering, procurement, construction and marine contractor, will supply and install the turbine foundations and sub-sea cables and will also take care of and manage the installation operations for the turbines. The north east port has been chosen due its extensive available land bank and deep water at the Port which are key components in the delivery of the project. This is because these features will provide dedicated assembly areas for the large structures with direct access to the North Sea. PD Ports will assist the project by supplying stevedoring support services to help with the loading of components onto sea vessels which are then taken out to the site, over 1.5km off the shore of Redcar on the north east coast. The decision by Van Oord to operate out of Hartlepool is a massive boost for the north east and for the port operator’s ‘Chain reaction Initiative’ which launched in 2010 with the intention of placing the Port of Hartlepool and the North East as a whole as a centre of excellence for the European wind energy market. PD Ports’ development director for bulks and ports, Paul Barker, said, “We are delighted to be appointed as the main construction logistics hub for the Teesside Windfarm Project at Hartlepool. This project, which will deliver 27 wind turbines and produce enough green energy to power 40,000 north east households, is the first physical output of the Chain Reaction Initiative and an excellent result for the region.” In addition, EDF Energy Renewables’ project manager for Teesside Offshore Windfarm, said, “This is an exciting but very demanding project and we are working closely with PD Ports to ensure that the work proceeds according to plan. An offshore wind farm requires much closer integration of design, construction and materials supply activities than an onshore wind farm because of the additional challenges of operating at sea and the vagaries of the weather. The supply base established at Hartlepool is therefore central to our construction programme.” The first stage of the project is expected to be ready by late summer 2012 with the fitting of the first wind turbine. Electricity is expected to be generated from the wind farm by early autumn of this year. Based in the North East, OSE offer a complete range of transport services including international Air and Sea Freight. Find out more here.