DONG Energy invests in UK-based wind turbine towers plant
Denmark’s largest energy company, DONG Energy, has made a multi-million pound investment in CS Wind’s UK-based facility. In return to exclusive access to supplies, DONG Energy’s investment will allow CS Wind to build a site extension and manufacture offshore wind turbine towers.
Located in Campbeltown in Scotland, the factory extension will be built next to CS Wind’s existing onshore wind tower site. It will be the first in the UK to make such towers and DONG Energy said it will use them in the expansion of its Walney offshore wind farm in the Irish Sea and its Hornsea Project One farm in the North Sea.
“It will be able to produce at least 50 towers a year and 70 jobs will be safeguarded as a result,” DONG said.
Siemens, which is DONG’s turbine supplier for these projects, will take delivery of the first 95 towers to be built in the factory.
“Our investment means that we and other offshore wind developers will be able to source towers in the UK, which is fantastic news not just for us but the whole UK offshore industry,” said Brent Cheshire, head of DONG Energy’s business in the UK.
Cheshire also added that developing the supply chain in the UK is a strategic priority for the company as well.
The UK is the world’s biggest offshore wind market and with further projects in the pipeline, turbines at sea are expected to provide around 10% of the UK’s annual electricity demand by 2020.
The British government supports offshore wind projects through subsidies and in return wants the growing industry to contribute as much as possible to the British economy.
“This inward investment drives forward positive local supply chain partnerships like this between DONG Energy and CS Wind,” said Britain’s Energy Minister, Baroness Neville Rolfe, in a statement.
“We plan on building more wind farms here, so this investment now will ultimately help us meet our targets in reliably delivering projects on time while bringing down the cost of offshore wind,” Cheshire said.
In April 2016, South Korean firm CS Wind acquired Wind Towers Scotland and its Campbeltown facility. In July 2016, CS Wind UK signed memorandums of understanding with developers Vattenfall and Siemens to provide towers to UK projects, onshore and offshore.
“Thanks to our continuous effort to build an offshore facility in the UK and Dong Energy’s significant contribution on investment, we are able to build this extension which will not only benefit other UK offshore wind farm developers but also secure 70 jobs in Campbeltown,” said CS Wind chairman Seong-GonGim.