The Port of Blyth has been selected by renewables giant Seaway 7 as the location for its cable base for Scotland’s biggest wind farm.
The Seagreen Offshore Wind Farm is located 27km off the coast of Angus in the North Sea firth, representing a £3bn joint venture between TotalEnergies and SSE Renewables.
Once complete, the 1,075MW Seagreen will be Scotland’s largest and deepest offshore wind farm.
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Seaway 7 – Subsea 7’s Renewables business unit – has picked the Port of Blyth to become its base for the storage and mobilisation of inter-array cable for the wind farm.
The Northumberland based port has already started to receive cable into quayside storage tanks, designed and built by its in-house technical team.
In total, approximately 12,000 tonnes of inter-array cable will pass through the Port’s Battleship Wharf Terminal, prior to installation offshore across 2022.
Martin Lawlor, chief executive of Port of Blyth, said: “Clearly, we are delighted to have been selected by Seaway 7 and look forward to working with them over the course of the project which will only enhance our reputation as one of the UK’s leading offshore energy hubs.
“We are confident that the award will help to attract further contracts to support the sector.”
The Seagreen contract will also provide a boost to training and education around the Blyth Estuary, providing experience for students, from STEM to apprenticeship level, looking to gain ‘real world’ experience within the region’s offshore energy industries.
Mr Lawlor added: “It’s a real added bonus that this contract can act as a practical learning resource to the thousands of local students focused on the sector.
“We hope they can become part of the future for offshore wind where there are great opportunities for a rewarding career.”
Port of Blyth is home to some of the world’s leading offshore energy companies and has been involved in a number of internationally significant projects.
The deal comes on the same day that JDR Cables announced plans for a £130m factory making cables for offshore wind farms.
The company, which already has sites in the North East at Newcastle and Hartlepool, wants to build the plant at Cambois, near Blyth, after receiving a grant to cover some of the construction costs from the Government’s Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Support scheme.
