Triton Knoll has agreed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Associated British Ports (ABP) to use its Grimsby facility as the Triton Knoll wind farm’s long-term Operations and Maintenance (O&M) base.
Studies estimate the O&M work on the 860MW offshore wind farm has the potential to support up to 170 direct and indirect long-term jobs, Triton Knoll said.
Innogy, the majority equity shareholder of Triton Knoll (59%), is managing the construction of the project on behalf of partners J-Power (25%) and Kansai Electric Power(16%).
The project partners secured full financing for the project valued at around GBP 2 billion last week.
Located 20 miles off the coast of Lincolnshire, the Triton Knoll will comprise 90 MHI Vestas 9.5MW wind turbines which will be assembled at Able UK’s Seaton Port in Teesside before being loaded on to construction vessels for transport and installation at the wind farm.
Initial enabling works are already underway at the site of the project’s onshore electrical system, which includes a 57km underground cable route, landfall site and construction of a new onshore substation at Bicker Fen, in Lincolnshire.
Full construction of the onshore electrical system is on schedule to begin in September. Offshore construction is then expected to start in late 2019/early 2020 and commissioning of Triton Knoll is expected to start in 2021.
A 15-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) was agreed with Ørsted, under which the company will offtake 100% of the power produced by Triton Knoll wind farm.