A SCOTS offshore wind farm has reached a significant milestone today with the opening of its new maintenance base.
Neart na Gaoithe’s (NnG) new Operations and Maintenance (O&M) base is located in the seaside town of Eyemouth, Berwickshire.
The base aims to bring up to 50 jobs to Eyemouth Harbour throughout the wind farm’s 25-year lifespan.
The three-storey base houses a high-tech control room which will see staff from NnG and its subcontractor Siemens Gamensa monitor the 450MW wind farm when it is commissioned in 2024.
The control room team will also monitor and control the movement of wind farm vessels into and out of Eyemouth Harbour and the site of the wind farm itself, which is located 15.5 kilometres off the coast of Fife.
The building also houses staff welfare facilities, collaborative workspaces, changing rooms, drying rooms, locker rooms and briefing areas for the team of technicians based there.
Seven technicians from the area have already been recruited and will begin work in February.
Alongside the O&M base, a high-quality berthing pontoon has been designed, constructed and installed in the harbour basin on the marine side of the harbour.
The official opening ceremony for the O&M base was conducted by Michael Matheson, Net Zero & Energy Secretary.
Speaking today, hesaid: “The Scottish Government’s draft Energy Strategy, published earlier this month, sets out our vision to ramp up renewables production and secure a bright future for our energy sector.
“We have a massive potential pipeline of offshore wind here in Scotland, and it is essential that our supply chain benefits from the associated opportunities that come with this.
“This new operations and maintenance base in Eyemouth is a prime example of how new offshore installations can create and sustain good green jobs and also bring wider, long-lasting benefits to the local community, businesses and economy.”
NnG, which is owned by EDF Renewables UK and ESB, will supply enough low carbon electricity for around 375,000 homes.
Matthieu Hue, CEO of EDF Renewables UK said: “The new base is a great example of our commitment to investing in Scotland.
“We’ve used local and Scottish companies during its construction phase and there will be high quality jobs and strong economic benefits for the 25 year lifespan of the wind farm.
“We already have 10 onshore wind farms in Scotland and our large development pipeline will allow us to expand our contribution to delivering more low carbon and affordable renewables capacity.”
Matthias Haag, NnG Project Director, said: “I’m immensely proud of the facility that we’ve built here, which is one of the most advanced O&M bases of any wind farm in the world.
“It will ensure not only that the NnG wind farm runs efficiently but that we put the safety and welfare of our people front and centre as they look after the operations of the NNG wind farm.”
