Offshore wind farms benefit economy by £5.4bn

A DENMARK-headquartered energy company is to have invested £5.4bn in developing offshore wind farms off the coast of the North West by 2019, according to a new report.

DONG Energy’s input is boosting the economy of the Liverpool City Region, Cumbria and Northern Ireland, creating jobs and helping supply chain businesses grow.

The report, The Economic Impact of DONG Energy Investments in the East Irish Sea, has been compiled by independent economy development and generation consultancy Regeneris Consulting.

Its findings were unveiled at the International Festival for Business 2016 in Liverpool, which DONG Energy is supporting.

With four offshore wind farms already running off the North West coast, DONG is currently building two more including the 660 megawatt Walney Extension, which when complete in 2019, will eclipse the London Array as the world’s biggest offshore wind farm.

It will make the combined output of DONG’s offshore wind farms in the North West capable of powering more than 1.5 million UK homes.

Brent Cheshire, UK chairman of DONG Energy said: “This report highlights the far-reaching regional benefits of DONG Energy’s investment in offshore wind projects off the coast of North West England. Our green energy projects are delivering a significant boost to the local economy, sustaining a local supply chaiin and creating jobs for local people.

“The wind farms we are developing in this region are enabling us to place large-scale contracts with UK suppliers which acts as a catalysis for further investment and upskilling benefits across the suppy chain.

“We are also bringing cutting-edge engineering to the region with innovations such as the 8 megawatt turbines – the world’s most powerful at present  – we are about to install in Liverpool Bay for the Burbo Bank Extension project.

“Not only will these turbines help us reduce the costs of offshore wind, the order has helped to support 200 jobs at the MHI Vestas blade manufacturing factory on the Isle of Wight.”

The report said with DONG Energy and other offshore wind developers have supported the growth of local supply chain to around an estimated 140 businesses in the Merseyside area. These businesses are now in a strong position to win further business in the offshore wind sector.

In the last five years, offshore wind sector opportunities in the East Irish Sea have enabled Merseyside shipyard Cammell Laird to diversify.

Through a £10m investment in new infrastructure – supported by funding from Wirral Council – it now provides construction port lay-down space and engineering services for offshore wind farms including DONG Energy’s Burbo Bank.

DONG Energy has committed to investing £15m in coastal communities along the Cumbria and Lancashire coast, as part of its Walney Extension Community Fund.

This funding will see £600,000 invested every year in supporting skills development, community facilities, nature conservation, community services plus sports and recreation. The fund will continue for the 25-year operational lifetime of the wind farm. A similar fund is also open for the Burbo Bank Extension project.

The report says: “Establishing an offshore wind supply chain requires a pipeline of wind farm investments over a sustained period. With a total of £5.4bn investment in East Irish Sea wind farms between 2005-2019, DONG Energy has provided this sustained investment for the area.”

The overall £5.4bn investment includes £2.7bn investment across the four currently operational wind farms – Barrow, Walney, Burbo Bank and West of Duddon Sands – and a further estimated £2.7bn investment in the two extension schemes, Burbo Bank Extension and Walney Extension.