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EDF Renewables NNG Briefing

By EDF | Posted May 31, 2019

Key facts:

  • EDF Renewables bought the Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind farm project (NnG) from Mainstream in May 2018 and it is expected to be fully operational in 2023.
  • The wind farm will produce up to 450 MW of low carbon energy and will have a maximum of 54 turbines after a new consent was granted in Dec 2018.
  • NnG will provide power for around 375,000 homes and will offset more than 400,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.
  • We are committed to using local content (using Scottish firms and Scottish workers) and we have a track record of doing this already.
  • We are currently in a structured procurement process and this starts with tier one contractors who will deliver large sub-packages of the project. No Scottish company currently has the capability to manufacture and supply all the steel work for the NnG project. This has also been confirmed by the management of Bi Fab and DF Barnes.
  • We are working closely with our tier one preferred suppliers to encourage them to use Scottish suppliers for tier two work packages e.g. the manufacturing of some of the jackets* for the turbine foundations and the manufacturing of towers.
  • Very few developers take this approach and work as closely with their contractors as we do in a bid to use local firms in the supply chain.
  • We have held supply chain events in Scotland and plan to have more.
  • We have successfully used Scottish firms on our Dorenell project in Moray where we spent £50 million locally and we used 15 towers from CS Wind who are based in Campbeltown.
  • When it comes to NnG we have been in talks with the Bi Fab owners DF Barnes for some months now and have brokered talks between them and out tier one preferred suppliers. These are ongoing.
  • It is essential that whichever supplier is chosen they are competitive so UK energy consumers are not overpaying for their energy.
  • All tier two contractors must be able to do the work to the required standards of safety, quality and cost and we will work with them to see how this can be achieved.
  • We understand the aspirations of the trade unions, workers and politicians and will engage with them and be able to update on the progress of procurement at the end of the summer.

About NnG and EDF Renewables:

  • EDF Renewables has invested more than £1 billion in the development and construction of assets located in Scotland.
  • We have around 60 new staff in our new Edinburgh office to work on the project.
  • EDF Renewables is one of the prominent developer driving forces behind the Scottish Coordination Group, the Fit4Renewables programme and the rapidly progressing Forth and Tay Offshore Cluster, a group of Scotland-based businesses and stakeholders focused on attracting work from the construction, installation, operation and maintenance of offshore wind developments.
  • EDF Renewables in the UK operates 35 wind farms and a battery storage unit and has previously developed, constructed and commissioned the Teesside (62MW) & Blyth (41.5MW) offshore wind farms in 2013 and 2018 respectively.
  • In Scotland, we already have 8 onshore wind farms which have a capacity of 496 MW and we have over 2 GW in development.

 

 

* Jackets are a type of foundation which is used to support and anchor the offshore wind turbines to the sea bed.

For more information

Lindsey Southworth
External Communications Manager - Renewables
(M) 07813 230379
lindsey.southworth@edf-re.com