Belfast Harbour has handed over its new £50m offshore wind terminal to DONG Energy and ScottishPower Renewables. The terminal, the first purpose-built offshore wind installation and pre-assembly harbour in the UK or Ireland, will be used as a hub to help service a market valued in excess of £100bn. Up to 300 jobs are expected to be created, ranging from welders to electricians and engineers.
The official hand-over was attended by Northern Ireland’s First and deputy First Ministers, Peter Robinson MLA and Martin McGuinness MLA, along with Len O’Hagan, Belfast Harbour’s Chairman and Brent Cheshire, DONG Energy’s UK Country Chairman.
DONG Energy has signed a lease for the terminal which will be used initially to support the development of the West of Duddon Sands Wind farm in the Irish Sea , a joint venture between ScottishPower Renewables and DONG Energy. Work on the wind farm has already started and Belfast Harbour has received its first shipment of wind farm components. It’s anticipated that the first turbines will depart Belfast this summer for erection at the site.
Welcoming the handover, Len O’Hagan, Belfast Harbour’s Chairman, said:
“Delivering this immense project on time and on budget has been a major achievement. This is a historic development for Belfast which has the potential to usher in a major new industry for Northern Ireland – a development which is all the more poignant given that this is the Harbour’s 400th anniversary year.
“Over the years the Harbour has helped bring other industries to Belfast such as shipbuilding and aerospace by investing heavily in infrastructure and land reclamation. This is a continuation of that strategy and a demonstration of our long-term commitment to enhance the local economy.”
The 50-acre terminal, located on the County Down side of the Port, is the largest single investment in Belfast Harbour’s 400-year history. Built by local construction company Farrans, the project took 15-months, 750,000 man hours, one million tonnes of stones and 30,000 tonnes of concrete to complete.
The 200,000 m2 facility, large enough to accommodate 30 football pitches, includes a 480m deep-water quayside. Up to three vessels will be able to berth simultaneously with access available around the clock.
Brent Cheshire, DONG Energy’s UK Country Chairman commented:
“Having a bespoke facility at our fingertips will help us plan our offshore construction very effectively and help with our work to lower the cost of offshore wind farms. The site is in an excellent strategic position for DONG Energy as we have several wind farms under development in the Irish Sea. This is a port that can handle the large number of huge pieces of equipment required.”
Keith Anderson, ScottishPower Renewables CEO, added:
“The facility at Belfast Harbour is one of the most advanced anywhere in the world for the assembly of offshore wind turbines, and we are delighted to be taking over the lease as we start offshore construction on the West of Duddon Sands project.
“This marks a significant milestone for the West of Duddon Sands project, and we are sure that Belfast will play a hugely important role in its successful delivery. The investment in Belfast Harbour will ensure that the city has a long-term future as a leader in renewable energy.”
Over 100 turbines, each with a rotor diameter of 120m, will be shipped from the new terminal to the West of Duddon Sands project. It will be one of the world’s largest offshore wind farms when it is commissioned in 2014.
The UK is Europe’s leading offshore wind generator and has plans to develop 11,000 new offshore wind turbines, a quarter of which are expected to be built within 150 nautical miles of Belfast. It is anticipated that 32 gigawatts of electricity, one quarter of the nation’s electricity needs, will be provided by offshore wind.
For Further Information on Belfast Harbour:
Jonathan King
Stakeholder Communications
028 9033 9949 / 077646 27297
jonathan@stakeholdergroup.com
For Further Information on DONG Energy:
Helen MacBain
DONG Energy
020 7811 5419
hemac@dongenergy.co.uk
For Further Information on ScottishPower Renewables:
Jane Holmes or Simon McMillan
ScottishPower Renewables
0141 614 4660
pressoffice@scottishpower.com
Notes to Editors
About Belfast Harbour
Belfast Harbour’s activities cover three areas:
- Services to Shipping
- Warehousing and Distribution Services
- Management and development of the Harbour Estate, including the development of the of the 185-acre Titanic Quarter with Titanic Quarter Ltd.
Belfast Harbour handles 60% of Northern Ireland’s sea borne trade and is a vital gateway for raw materials, exports and consumer goods for the entire island. The Port is also Northern Ireland’s leading logistics and distribution hub and is home to many well-known local businesses such as the George Best City Airport, Harland & Wolff, Bombardier, Odyssey, the NI Science Park, Titanic Quarter and Titanic Belfast.
As a UK Trust Port, Belfast Harbour is an independent statutory body. Trust Ports are not owned by Government; they are obliged to operate independently and on a commercial basis. Its Board – known as Belfast Harbour Commissioners - is appointed by Northern Ireland’s Department for Regional Development on the basis of open public advertisement.
Income is generated primarily by charges on services to shipping and from rental income sourced from Belfast Harbour Estate.
About DONG Energy
DONG Energy is one of the leading energy groups in Northern Europe. We are headquartered in Denmark. Our business is based on procuring, producing, distributing and trading in energy and related products in Northern Europe. We have approximately 7,000 employees and generated DKK 57 billion (EUR 7.6 billion) in revenue in 2011. For further information, see www.dongenergy.com.
ScottishPower Renewables
ScottishPower Renewables (SPR) is part of Iberdrola, the largest wind energy company in the world with an installed capacity of 14,400 MW as of 31 December 2012. SPR was the first developer in the UK to reach 1000 MW of installed wind capacity.
The company is also developing a number of offshore energy projects across Europe, with an attributable pipeline of 8,000MW. SPR is one of the largest operators and developers of onshore wind energy in the UK, and operates the UK’s largest onshore wind farm, the 539MW Whitelee Windfarm outside Glasgow.