Vattenfall has signed leases totalling 24 years with Aberdeen Harbour Board, as the company will use the location to support the construction, commissioning, operation and maintenance (O&M), and eventual decommissioning phases of its European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC), also known as the Aberdeen Offshore Wind Farm.
Vattenfall said it is set to establish its construction team’s base within the Regent Centre by next month and also move into a warehouse unit at Commercial Quay. The warehouse will undergo a substantial retrofit and the company anticipates moving into the new facilities within Q2 of 2017.
A team of up to 10 personnel, including skilled offshore wind technicians, will be based at the facilities during the lifetime of the project.
Turbine supplier, MHI Vestas Offshore wind, will provide a full service agreement for at least the first five years of operations, working together with Vattenfall from the O&M base at Aberdeen Harbour.
Adam Ezzamel , project director for the EOWDC at Vattenfall, said: “ Aberdeen Harbour is a natural fit for our operations while the EOWDC is a flagship project for the region and its Energetica corridor. As a hub of innovation, the project will reinforce the North-East’s global energy status by leading the industry drive towards generating clean and competitive wind energy power.”
Chief executive at Aberdeen Harbour Board, Colin Parker , said: “Whilst Aberdeen Harbour has supported both onshore and offshore renewables projects many times in the past, we very much welcome this long-term commitment to the port by Vattenfall. We believe that our location and modern facilities are ideal to support this work, and this agreement typifies our continued strategy for diversification of harbour activity, to the benefit of the region.”
The EOWDC is Scotland’s largest offshore wind test and demonstration facility. It is being developed by Vattenfall-owned Aberdeen Offshore Wind Farm Limited. Onshore construction onshore of the 92.4MW, 11-turbine offshore wind scheme started last month with first power expected to be generated in summer 2018.