‘Monumental day’ as construction starts on £400m offshore wind facility

Work has today (7 July) got under way on a new £400m offshore wind facility on Teesside, set to become the biggest of its kind in the world and create 750 direct jobs.

SeAH Wind Ltd’s 1.13m sq ft facility will produce bases for offshore wind turbines and will be based at Redcar’s Teesworks, the UK’s biggest industrial zone. It is the first scheme driven by private sector investment to begin construction at any UK Freeport.

When fully operational, the scheme will create 750 jobs, with a further 1,500 indirect jobs in the supply chain during construction. SeAH Wind Ltd is committed to supporting the local workforce and has previously held engagement events so businesses from across the region could learn how they can get involved as work on the factory ramps up.

When complete, the facility is expected to produce between 100 and 150 monopiles per year which will be transported directly from the factory to Teesworks’ under-construction South Bank Quay before heading to the North Sea for installation using specialised pile driving equipment.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen welcomed President & CEO of SeAH Steel Holdings Joosung Lee and Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng MP to the Teesworks site to mark the occasion.

Mayor Houchen said: “Today is a monumental day years in the making. Since 2017 we’ve had a challenging time to secure all of the land at Teesworks and have worked hard to get it remediated and investor-ready as quickly as possible. Now we’ve finally got to the good part!

“This is not only the first private sector project to get spades in the ground at Teesworks. It’s not only the first at the Teesside Freeport. It’s actually the first at any Freeport in the UK once again proving our region is the place to do business in the safer, cleaner and healthier sectors of the future.”

“SeAH Wind will be the first XXL monopile foundation fabrication facility in the UK. With this massive factory it will signal a successful revival of the manufacturing sector in Teesside, as well as setting a great example for the UK government’s initiative to support a green industrial revolution.”

Business and energy secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said: “It’s fantastic to witness the ground-breaking for the UK’s first monopile factory which will see Teesside laying the foundations for the future of offshore wind in the UK.”

Mary Lanigan, leader of Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council, said: “This really is a real breakthrough moment - the day when the potential of our borough and our region to be right at the forefront of the green industrial revolution starts to become reality.”

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