Van Oord contract announcement at Offshore Wind North East highlights region’s growing role in the sector
Posted on 10 November 2022
Offshore Wind North East (OWNE), the nationally significant regional conference and exhibition, played host to a significant contract announcement from Van Oord, which support industry activity in North East England.
At OWNE it was announced Van Oord has reached agreement with Port of Blyth for the logistics and storage of array cables that will be utilised on the Sofia Offshore Wind Farm in the North Sea.
Van Oord was one of a number of major contractors and offshore wind farm developers, alongside an extensive collection of supply chain companies attending Offshore Wind North East.
Attracting more than 900 delegates and in excess of 130 exhibitors, OWNE, was organised by NOF in partnership with North East England’s Offshore Wind Cluster, Energi Coast.
Among the exhibitors was the Offshore Wind Growth Partnership (OWGP), which launched a new Innovation Grant funding competition targeted at two offshore wind industry innovation priorities, decarbonising the sector and improving reliability.
Sponsored by Equinor, Ocean Winds, and ScottishPower Renewables, OWGP has released its latest Innovation Grants competition, which will see a total of £2million awarded to successful supply chain companies, with grants available from £25,000 to £200,000.
Held at the Beacon of Light in Sunderland on 9 and 10 November, OWNE explored themes and opportunities in the offshore wind sector with a high calibre line-up of leading speakers providing insights and updates on future activity within the sector.
Significant areas discussed included UK and global projects, supply chain and procurement opportunities, innovation, skills, floating offshore wind and logistics and infrastructure.
There was considerable interest from delegates in updates provided on high-profile projects such as Sofia Offshore Wind Farm and Dogger Bank Wind Farm while the Department for International Trade and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy provided briefings on the industry landscape from a government perspective.
OWNE also welcomed a number of high-profile industry speakers from companies including ScottishPower Renewables, Ørsted and bp/EnBW.
Strategic Event Partners for OWNE included, Dogger Bank Wind Farm, Sofia Offshore Wind Farm, Van Oord and Pentland Floating Offshore Wind Farm. The Regional Event Partners were Invest North East England and Teesside Freeport. The Diamond Sponsor was Energy Central and Platinum Sponsors were 3t Transform and MJR Power & Automation.
Roy van Loveren, Area Manager UK & Ireland at Van Oord, said: “North East England is strategically important to Van Oord and this contract reflect both the opportunities open to our business to contribute to the region’s offshore wind infrastructure, but, as in the case of Port of Blyth, build partnerships with local organisations that strengthen the area’s role in the development of major offshore wind projects.
“I was delighted to announce this contract at Offshore Wind North East, which is an exceptionally important event and provides a great location for us to engage with a wide range of people and businesses from North East England’s growing offshore wind cluster.”
George Rafferty, Director of Strategy and Growth at NOF, said: “The announcement by Van Oord is a strong reflection of the level of engagement and business opportunities that are available in North East England’s offshore wind sector.
“As the UK industry plays its part in the energy transition and the journey to net zero, events such as Offshore Wind North East will play an increasingly important role. The calibre of speakers, partners, sponsors and exhibitors clearly demonstrates the desire to build new partnerships, establish collaborations and award and win new work that will make key contributions to the offshore wind sector.”
OWNE 2022 - Media Release Video - https://we.tl/t-W1FpMqlXyk
