NOF and Energi Coast, North East England’s offshore wind cluster, has welcomed the Crown Estate’s announcement that it will move forward with the next phase of offshore leasing. The announcement was made at the Energy Central Learning Hub in Blyth on March 26 at an event attended by local industry and national stakeholders.
The area identified by The Crown Estate could support up to 6GW or more of offshore wind capacity, supporting 2030 clean power targets. The announcement also signals a strong step toward strengthening a credible pipeline of opportunities, limiting the impacts of attrition and supporting energy security at a key time.
The region’s potential to support future leasing is bolstered by its strategic location, with access to ports, infrastructure through supply chain capacity, and a ready workforce skilled in construction, fabrication, operations and maintenance. All of which have been at the forefront of Energi Coast’s ambitions to highlight the North East’s offshore potential.
Established in 2011, Energi Coast is one of eight UK offshore wind clusters and is owned and operated by NOF; a national business development organization with more than 400 members involved in the offshore wind, hydrogen, carbon capture & storage, oil & gas and nuclear industries.
Over the course of three years, Energi Coast has undertaken numerous activities to raise awareness of the opportunity, supply and technology innovation in the region and has developed key strategic relationships with national stakeholders, as well as, more recently, assisting in the development of a pan-regional offshore wind strategy for the coming decade.
“This is a significant moment for both the UK and the North East, placing the region at the heart of delivering energy security whilst simultaneously delivering economic growth,” said Tony Quinn, Energi Coast chairman.
“The deliverability is borne out of incremental innovation, our engineering expertise and our ability to scale our key businesses to the requisite capacity. We’ve already demonstrated our capability on projects like Dogger Bank and Sofia and are ready to increase our regional share of this new capacity announced today,” Quinn said.
“These new offshore wind farm sites will drive multi-billion-pound private sector investment and create thousands of skilled jobs with regional businesses lined up to capitalise on the future supply chain opportunities,” said Joanne Leng MBE, Chief Executive of NOF.
“Today’s announcement has the potential to unlock the next phase for North East England’s offshore wind future. The region has grown both expertise and innovation, and further collaboration will grow the industry further for generations to come,” said Tom Nightingale, Energi Coast deputy chairman and Equinor local supply chain manager.
North East England is at the epicenter of the energy transition with the pipeline, projects and people needed to advance the UK’s Net Zero ambitions. The region is built on a great industrial heritage, and its strong supply chain and ports will be at the heart of the sector’s growth in the North East and beyond, helping to deliver the Offshore Wind Industrial Growth Plan and create opportunities for local people to prosper.
More info: energicoast.co.uk/
