Supply Chain Opportunities for World’s Largest Wind Farm

Opportunities for Norfolk and Suffolk companies to secure business with developers of the world’s largest wind farm will be spelt out at supply chain events to be announced soon.

Jonathan Cole, managing director of Scottish Power Renewables, said the procurement process for the £2bn 714 MW East Anglia One would begin after contracts were signed at the end of this month.

His company would “run very fast’ towards the project – which would be the first of many more wind farms off the east of England coast, he said.

He added: “What we showed last week with our successful bid in the auction is that the costs of energy from offshore wind is coming down much faster than anyone expected in the industry.

“We are well and truly on track for costing £100 per MW by 2020 and looking at the potential we can go beyond that and can go somewhere around £90 by 2023.”

Contracts for East Anglia One would be signed at the end of the month and then the procurement process would begin. Onshore construction starts in 2017, off shore in 2018 and the first electricity generated in 2019.

Developer of the £1.5bn Dudgeon windfarm, Statoil – due to be in operation in 2017 – is also interested in speaking to potential suppliers.

Halfdan Brusted, of Statoil, developer of Dudgeon, said Dudgeon would create up to 80 direct jobs over the next 20 years on and offshore, mainly electrical and mechanical technicians.

“But we also need people in other service areas,” said Matthew Knight, director of strategy and government affairs at Siemens Energy.

The East of England Energy Group (EEEGR) will facilitate a number of opportunities in the coming weeks and months for suppliers to meet with these developers for further information.