Diving contract awarded at one of Europe’s largest offshore wind farms

Paul Boughton
A commercial diving and specialist offshore services company with bases in Merseyside and North Wales in the UK has been awarded a major contract to support the construction of Gwynt y Môr Offshore Wind Farm in Liverpool Bay.  

Hughes Sub Surface Engineering (HSSE), with offices in Bootle and Mostyn, won a £5million contract for diving and cable installation support services, creating jobs and bringing investment into the region.

At 576MW, Gwynt y Môr is one of the largest offshore wind farms currently in construction in Europe. It is a shared investment between partners RWE Innogy, Stadtwerke München GmbH and Siemens.  Once fully operational, Gwynt y Môr will generate enough clean green energy to meet the needs of approximately 400,000 homes and carries with it a £19 million community benefit fund, securing investment into local communities for the next 25 years.[Page Break]
 
RWE npower renewables’ Gwynt y Môr Project Director, Toby Edmonds said: “Hughes Sub Surface Engineering is providing crucial diving services to support the construction of Gwynt y Môr.  

“Finding this level of specialism so close to the construction site has been hugely beneficial in developing good working relationships.  
“HSSE has been working hard to meet the needs of the renewables industry and as a result is now one of the largest suppliers of diving services to the offshore wind industry.  

“Gwynt y Môr Offshore Wind Farm Limited has awarded more than £310million worth of contracts to UK based companies, with many operating from the North West and North Wales.”  [Page Break]

The diving contract has secured work for HSSE’s fourteen office based staff, with 60-80 sub-contractors being employed for the offshore works.  They will operate from the DSV Normand Tonjer, a special vessel providing a state of the art diving system on board, including LARS, NITROX, hot water diving systems and an 1800mm decompression chamber.

Renewables is a key business growth sector in Wales and the likes of Clocaenog Forest wind farm (up to 96MWs), offers significant potential for local companies to secure new contracts within the sector.

HSSE used the Venue Cymru event to gain a better understanding of the nature and challenges associated with the offshore renewables sector.

Onshore, the new 400kV Bodelwyddan substation south of St Asaph Business Park is now live and connected to the National Grid. Sections of the 132kV substation, on the same site, which will take electricity from the offshore substations, have also been connected into the National Grid.  The 11km onshore cable route between Pensarn and St Asaph is almost complete.

For more information, visit  www.rwe.com/gwyntymor; www.rwenpower.com; www.hsse.co.uk

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