A new quay in the UK’s Tees Valley that will support SeAH Wind’s new XXL monopile manufacturing facility is set to be operational in early summer 2024.
Construction work on the first 450-metre phase of the South Bank Heavy Lift Quay, which started in 2021 , is now complete, according to Teesworks Ltd, a private-public partnership developing the Teesworks Freeport.
“Negotiations are advanced with a potential operator of the quay and the facility is set to be operational by early summer,” Teesworks said in a press release on 11 April.
The new quay, which has deep-water capabilities and substantial storage, will help serve the monopile factory that SeAH Wind is currently building immediately to the south of the quay, which is expected to start production in early 2025.
The South Korean manufacturer announced its investment in the factory on the south bank of the River Tees in 2022 and the UK civil construction company Graham broke ground at Teesworks Freeport the same year. Last year, SeAH Wind secured GBP 367 million in Standard Chartered Bank and HSBC UK financing to build what is said to be the world’s largest offshore wind monopile manufacturing facility and started a recruitment campaign for the new factory at the beginning of this year.
When fully operational, SeAH Wind’s facility will be able to produce between 100 and 200 monopiles per year which will be transported directly from the factory to the new South Bank Quay facility before heading to the North Sea for installation.
The new quay will also enable components and raw materials to be shipped to SeAH’s plant and the wider Teesworks site for use in the manufacturing process.
Teesworks Operations Director Garry O’Malley said the South Bank Heavy Lift Quay was already attracting significant interest from other companies in the offshore wind sector as well.
“South Bank Heavy Lift Quay will be a major strategic facility for the North Sea offshore wind industry over the next few decades,” Garry O’Malley said. “There’s a real shortage of ports on the east coast which have deep water capabilities and large areas of land for storing and marshalling offshore wind farm components before they are shipped out for installation.”
Plans are now being examined for phase 2A of the South Bank Heavy Lift Quay, which could increase the length of the quay by up to 300 metres, depending on demand from potential occupiers and users, Teesworks says.