A “landmark” £100 million deal, which will create around 300 jobs, has been agreed between the developers of two major wind farms and Belfast Harbour.
The joint developers of the Mona and Morgan offshore wind farms will lease the D1 terminal as they build the biggest offshore wind farms planned in the Irish Sea.
Work is being carried out at Belfast Harbour so that the site is ready for use from 2028.
The Mona and Morgan offshore wind farms will be built between the Isle of Man, North Wales and north-west England.
Once they are operational they could deliver up to three gigawatts, which is enough electricity to power around three million UK households.
The chairwoman of Belfast Harbour, Dr Theresa Donaldson, explained that Belfast is the only port on the island of Ireland with offshore wind capabilities and said it “is uniquely placed thanks to the combination of our existing facility, our expertise, local supply chain and location to be a key enabler of the power stations of the future in the Irish, Celtic and North Seas.”
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer highlighted the deal as a project which is helping to “bring about the clean power revolution”.
He made the comments as he reaffirmed the UK Government’s commitment to renewable energy and net zero targets ahead of next week’s Cop30 global summit.
EnBW, a German energy company, and JERA Nex bp, an offshore wind company based in London, are behind Mona and Morgan.
JERA Nex bp’s chief executive Nathalie Oosterlinck described the deal as a “direct contribution to the infrastructure needed to drive the energy transition”.
Michael Class, a senior vice president at EnBW, said it was a “milestone commitment”, adding: “We are optimistic about fostering a long-lasting partnership between Germany, the UK and Northern Ireland.”
The harbour reinvests all profits back into the port and this deal will help fund a new dual-purpose cruise and offshore wind site.
It will also help to pay for works to further reinforce the terminal to handle the next generation of offshore wind turbines, whose components can weigh more than 1,000 tonnes.
