Eight offshore wind technicians from the Humber area are about to start work on the installation of wind turbine foundations at DONG Energy’s 580MW Race Bank offshore wind farm.
Race Bank is located off the North Norfolk coast and is being built out of DONG Energy’s construction base in the Grimsby Fish Docks. The offshore wind farm will consist of 91 wind turbines in total and each turbine is 177 metres tall.
With the first of two offshore substations – which link each turbine to the main export cables that transmit electricity back to shore – now complete , work will begin on the installation of the second substation and the remaining foundations for the Siemens 6 MW turbines which will be installed by A2SEA in 2017.
GeoSea’s jack-up vessel Innovation installed the first foundation at the site in June.
Jason Ledden, Construction Project Manager for Race Bank at DONG Energy, said: “Work on Race Bank is progressing well and having the first offshore substation installed is an important milestone. It’s part of the overall plan that will eventually see two offshore substations and 91 turbines installed on the Race Bank site. It’s fantastic to have eight local technicians being part of this vital stage of construction. They have been trained to the highest standards for working offshore and have a crucial role to play.”
The Race Bank technicians have all been through full Global Wind Organisation (GWO) training including sea survival, turbine rescue from height and firefighting, allowing them to access the offshore site.
Alongside this, they have also received specialist training to allow them to carry out an array of tasks involved in completing the offshore work.
John Martin, an Offshore Site Technician at DONG Energy from Cleethorpes, said: “Being given this opportunity to work with a fantastic team at Race Bank has been a brilliant chance for a local lad to be a part of the growing renewable energy trade. This is my first construction job within the industry, so I am very excited to broaden my horizon and learn the job from the start of the project. I have been given full training and support, and I am looking forward to my future with DONG Energy.”
Race Bank is slated for full commissioning in 2018.