Scandinavian utility Vattenfall has signed leases totalling 24 years with Aberdeen Harbour, becoming the first offshore wind operator to invest long term in the port.
The company is set to establish its construction team within the Regent Centre this month and also move into a warehouse unit at Commercial Quay.
The facilities will support the construction, commissioning, operation and maintenance – and eventual decommissioning – of Vattenfall £300 million European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre off the Grampian coast.
A team of up to 10 people, including skilled offshore wind technicians, will be based at the harbour facilities during the lifetime of the project.
Construction onshore of the innovative 92.4MW, 11-turbine offshore wind scheme – in which the municipally-owned Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group is a long-term partner – started last month, with first power expected to be generated in Summer 2018.
A Vattenfall spokesman said: “Establishing a long-term operations centre in Aberdeen is fundamental to our project plans.
“Aberdeen Harbour is a natural fit for our operations while the EOWDC is a flagship project for the region and its Energetica corridor. As a hub of innovation, the project will reinforce the Grampian’s global energy status by leading the industry drive towards generating clean and competitive wind energy power.”
Turbine supplier MHI Vestas will provide a full-service agreement for at least the first five years of operations, working together with Vattenfall from its long-lease base at Aberdeen harbour.
Pixie Energy is an incubator and a facilitator of strategic research and project work, focusing on energy regulation, policy and markets at the local and national level. Find out more about Pixie Energy