A deal has been signed to construct components for one of the world’s largest offshore wind farms in Wales, safeguarding over 300 jobs.
Burntisland Fabrications Limited entered into a £12 million contract with RWE npower renewables to design and construct two substations for the Gwynt y Mor Offshore Wind Farm.
Some 350 jobs are expected to be safeguarded by the contract, at the Fife-based company’s BiFab Methil plant. Work on the substation platforms is due to be completed in March 2012, with installation expected to take place the following month.
Further work on structures which will be used to secure the platforms to the seabed will take place at the BiFab Arnish facility at Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, securing a further 40 jobs.
First minister Alex Salmond welcomed the news. “Together with our huge natural renewables resource, Scotland has decades of offshore energy engineering expertise that can play a key role in meeting our renewable energy and carbon reduction targets,” he added.
The world’s largest offshore windfarm – Thanet – was opened off the south coast of the UK by Vattenfall in September.
