UK: HSSE Wins GBP 5 Million Contract for Gwynt y Môr

A north west based commercial diving and specialist offshore services company has been awarded a major contract to support the construction of Gwynt y Môr Offshore Wind Farm in Liverpool Bay.

Hughes Sub Surface Engineering (HSSE), with offices in Bootle, Mostyn and Staines, won a £5million contract for diving and cable installation support services, creating jobs and bringing investment into the region.

At 576MW, Gwynt y Môr is one of the largest offshore wind farms currently in construction in Europe. It is a shared investment between partners RWE Innogy, Stadtwerke München GmbH and Siemens. Once fully operational, Gwynt y Môr will generate enough clean green energy to meet the needs of around 400,000 homes and carries with it a community benefit fund of up to £19 million, securing investment into local communities for the next 25 years.

RWE npower renewables’ Gwynt y Môr Project Director, Toby Edmonds said: “Hughes Sub Surface Engineering is providing crucial diving services to support the construction of Gwynt y Môr.

“Finding this level of specialism so close to the construction site has been hugely beneficial in developing good working relationships.

“HSSE has been working hard to meet the needs of the renewables industry and as a result is now one of the largest suppliers of diving services to the offshore wind industry.

“Gwynt y Môr Offshore Wind Farm Limited has awarded more than £310million worth of contracts to UK based companies, with many operating from the North West and North Wales.”

The diving contract has secured work for HSSE’s twenty office based staff, with 60-80 sub-contractors being employed for the offshore works. They will operate from the specialised offshore construction vessel ‘Normand Tonjer’. HSSE are providing a state of the art diving system on board, including Twin Launch and Recovery systems (LARS), NITROX breathing gases, hot water diving systems and an 1800mm decompression chamber; ensuring maximum productivity on site and limiting downtime due to weather.

Re-affirming the company’s growing reputation as a provider of specialist diving, rigging and engineering services to the offshore wind farm sector Ian Hughes, Managing Director for HSSE, said: “Our unique blend of skills, knowledge and experience in this demanding arena, coupled with our ability to provide innovative solutions to the range of challenges always present on these complex projects ensures we provide a valued service to help our clients successfully complete projects on time and within budget.”

HSSE was one of more than 100 businesses to attend the Gwynt y Môr Supply Chain event at Venue Cymru in Llandudno in January 2011.

This was one of several events carried out across Wales, to raise awareness of business opportunities from RWE NRL’s portfolio of developing projects, including Clocaenog Forest Wind Farm, near Ruthin.

Renewables is a key business growth sector in Wales and the likes of Clocaenog Forest wind farm (up to 96MWs), offers significant potential for local companies to secure new contracts within the sector. Only last week, a report by Cardiff Business School and Manchester-based economic consultants Regeneris outlined that delivery of the Welsh Government renewables agenda could be worth £2.3billion to the Welsh economy and could secure around 2000 jobs a year.

HSSE used the Venue Cymru event to gain a better understanding of the unique nature and challenges associated with the offshore renewables sector.

Ian Hughes added: “I found the supply chain event in Llandudno very useful in understanding what the client was proposing for the development of the wind farm and how proactive they were in looking for local suppliers.

“As a company we have strong connections in North Wales. I am from Deganwy originally and 70% of our workforce is from the local area.”

Offshore construction at Gwynt y Môr is well underway more than eight miles offshore, with 80 monopile foundations and the two offshore substations now in place.

Onshore, the new 400kV Bodelwyddan substation south of St Asaph Business Park is now live and connected to the National Grid. Sections of the 132kV substation, on the same site, which will take electricity from the offshore substations, have also been connected into the National Grid. The 11km onshore cable route between Pensarn and St Asaph is almost complete.

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Press release, February 13, 2013; Image: HSSE