Team Humber Marine Alliance (THMA) has welcomed DONG Energy taking full control of the Hornsea Round 3 wind zone, one of the world’s biggest offshore wind development schemes.
Mark O’Reilly, CEO and chairman of THMA, one of the UK’s offshore and marine business development organisations, said: “THMA is delighted that DONG Energy has progressed its plans for the acquisition of Project Two and Project Three zones of the Hornsea windfarm.
“We have worked closely with SMart Wind for the past four years during the development of the Hornsea Project including individual signed letters of support from 50 Humber business leaders during the planning stages.
“DONG Energy’s decision is a vote of confidence in the UK market and particularly the Humber confirming their recent proposed commitment to Able UK’s Able Marine Energy Park.
“The Hornsea Zone Projects Two and Three are expected to form an important part of DONG Energy’s post-2020 project pipeline, potentially securing long-term investments in the Humber, creating new jobs and opportunities for the supply chain – our 200-plus member companies among them.”
THMA have also been working closely with the DONG Energy supply chain group to maximise the input of the local supply chain particularly for upcoming wind farms, including Race Bank and its Hornsea Project One.
At Team Humber’s recent Offshore Wind Connections 2015 conference Joachim Steenstrup, DONG Energy’s head of strategic supply chain, said that DONG Energy is “the market leader within offshore wind with a strong pipeline of future projects and a growing portfolio and massive opportunities.”
Since the start of 2013, THMA has also been working with Able UK and its partners, and North Lincs Council, as part of the project steering group of the Humber UTC, which is due to open this coming in September.