Ørsted celebrates offshore wind week with successful supplier event

Matthew Wright, Ørsted UK’s Managing Director, said: “The UK has much to celebrate when it comes to the success of the offshore wind industry. Through innovation and collaborative partnerships we have grown this fantastic technology from its infancy to now having the largest capacity by far, of any country in the world.. Not only that, Government policy has enabled UK projects to dramatically reduce in cost, such that generating electricity from this natural resource now costs no more than using fossil fuels.

“I am proud to be part of this industry, and to work for a company that is truly pioneering; breaking records for both cost and clean electricity generation. But whilst we reflect and take a moment to celebrate our successes, we must also recognise there is still more to do.

“The global market is set to reach £30 billion annually by 2030, and with an offshore wind sector deal, UK export value could grow five-fold. We need to be ready to ensure the UK supply chain benefits not just from UK projects, but seizes opportunities from this global growth. This is a main focus for both us at Ørsted, and the industry right now.”

The Offshore Wind Industry Council (OWIC) has appointed ex-McLaren Group CEO Martin Whitmarsh to undertake a full review of its supply chain, and Ørsted is also doing its part to open the doors to new UK suppliers. Last week, the company held a supply chain information event, at the Magna Science Adventure Centre, Rotherham, so companies from up and down the UK could find out how they can get involved in Hornsea Project Two. This offshore wind farm is Ørsted’s latest project un der construction, which will be the biggest in the world when operational in 2022.

Over 450 delegates attended the event, where both the project team and some of its first tier suppliers, Balfour Beatty, Siemens Gamesa, ABB and VolkerInfra, explained how UK companies can sign up to benefit from Hornsea Project Two.

Duncan Clark, Programme Director for both Hornsea Projects One and Two, said: “The opportunities offshore wind can offer UK companies are tremendous, and as we build these huge projects in UK waters, we must ensure UK companies are aware of what’s on offer, and ready to deliver. As the industry has grown, we’ve seen companies diversifying from other industries, as well as investment in new facilities purely to service the sector’s growing supply chain needs.

“We also work closely with our first tier contractors to support them in their engagement with local companies and it was great to see this in practice at last week’s event. We’ve had really positive feedback and hope to follow up with some “Meet the Buyer” events with our first tier suppliers in the new year.”

In the past five years alone, Ørsted has placed major contracts with nearly 100 different UK companies to help build and maintain our offshore wind farms. The majority of these contracts have a value of over £1 million and more than 75% of these companies have received multiple contracts.

Did you know?

The UK has the largest capacity of offshore wind in the world, and with eleven operational wind farms in UK waters, it is also Ørsted’s largest market. 

The company is currently constructing two more giant wind farms off the Yorkshire Coast that will dwarf the current largest, Walney Extension, situated off the Cumbrian Coast, officially opened by Ørsted earlier this year,

Hornsea Projects One and Two, 1.2 giga watts (GW) and 1.4GW respectively, are a step change in size for offshore wind farms. Hornsea Project One, which expected to open in 2020, will be the first offshore wind farm in the world with a capacity over a 1GW and Hornsea Project Two will be built at the cheapest ever price for UK offshore wind.

If you are a UK supplier looking to register your interest in Hornsea Project Two you can sign up for further information here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/hornsea-project-two-supply-chain-event-expression-of-interest-forms-tickets-52815627965