Contract awarded for £2.5bn offshore windfarm

Great Yarmouth-based 3Sun Group has been awarded a contract worth more than £2.5 million to help build a new windfarm off the East Anglia coast.

The deal will create 30 jobs to service the construction stage of East Anglia One, from the £2.5 billion windfarm’s new base in Lowestoft harbour.

The project is one of the biggest single site contracts the company has won to date.

It was founded in 2007 and now has 320 staff and a £25 million turnover.

The 102-turbine wind farm is being developed by Scottish Power Renewables 45 kilometres off the coast. It is hoped it will be operational by 2020 when it will provide power for around 600,000 homes.

The project workforce is set to include candidates from the new East of England Offshore Wind Skills Centre, which was set up to boost the pool of skilled technicians.

Chief operations officer Stephen Rose, who previously worked on the construction of SSE’s Greater Gabbard offshore windfarm, which lies off the Suffolk coast, will oversee the contract.

Charlie Jordan, East Anglia One project director at Scottish Power Renewables, said: “We are already working with a number of East Anglian companies and look forward to working with 3Sun Group on this important phase of the project. 3Sun’s expertise will play a key role in our offshore construction activities for East Anglia One.”

Four major work packages will be carried out in support of offshore activities during the 28 month contract. They are:

• Onshore and offshore services – including labour, from office-based administrators and security staff to offshore technicians; supplying materials and equipment ranging from forklifts to vessels, plus warehousing, scaffolding, onshore fabrication and lifting
• Training – health and safety training including Global Wind Organisation training, confined space working, rescue drills and onshore emergency drills
• PPE – providing and maintaining all personal protection equipment
• Waste management – managing and disposing of onshore and offshore waste from paper to cleaning products and paint

3Sun chief executive, Graham Hacon, said: “This is one of the biggest single site contracts we have ever had. It will draw on our local knowledge and experience of the offshore renewables industry – using our pool of technicians, but will also create up to another 30 jobs from office workers to technicians.

“We know it was a very competitive tendering process and, after months of work towards the bid, 3Sun is delighted to have been chosen as part of the 50 per cent of UK content for the project.

“We also hope it will further add to our credibility and showcase our services for other major windfarms in the future.”