North East England Ready for UK Sector Deal

North East England’s supply chain is “fit and ready” to support the growth of offshore wind that the new UK Sector Deal will bring, according to Energi Coast.

Energi Coast Chairman and Tekmar Group CEO, James Ritchie, stated that the Sector Deal is a significant step forward in creating a sustainable industry and providing real value creation to the local supply chain.

“Offshore wind is a central part of the world’s clean energy future due to its renewed competitiveness and scalability,” said Ritchie.

“Delivering it requires an innovative supply chain to produce effective and efficient technology and services that support the construction, operation and maintenance of offshore wind farms, which is something the North East has done successfully.”

The Sector Deal is expected to support the development of supply chain clusters, such as the Energi Coast group of companies.

According to Ritchie, the region has been instrumental in establishing the UK offshore wind industry and has developed diverse local content with subsea and offshore technology.

The cluster is able to deliver every element for building an offshore wind farm, from foundations, design, cables and cable laying to extensive port facilities, Ritchie said, adding that it is also home to a number of companies providing offshore wind O&M support.

“The sector deal has the potential to attract considerable inward investment to the UK and in turn generate thousands of jobs in the supply chain,” said George Rafferty, Chief Executive of NOF, which founded Energi Coast in 2011.

“This will aid the use of more local content in both construction and operations & maintenance of UK offshore wind farms, but also in the export of skills, products and services to other parts of the world.”