Aspen Wind Project in UK North Sea Pledges over 1,000 Jobs

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Aspen Wind Project in UK North Sea Pledges over 1,000 Jobs

Cerulean Winds Ltd. signed a charter on Monday confirming more than 1,000 jobs including 100 apprenticeships in the Aspen wind project on the United Kingdom side of the North Sea. The 1-gigawatt (GW) project is expected to attract GBP 10.9 billion ($14.43 billion) in investment, including GBP 5.9 billion during development and construction, over its […]

Cerulean Winds Ltd. signed a charter on Monday confirming more than 1,000 jobs including 100 apprenticeships in the Aspen wind project on the United Kingdom side of the North Sea.

The 1-gigawatt (GW) project is expected to attract GBP 10.9 billion ($14.43 billion) in investment, including GBP 5.9 billion during development and construction, over its 50-year lifespan. Aspen would also deliver GBP 4.1 billion Gross Value Added to the UK, of which GBP 2.8 billion would be for Scotland, according to Cerulean Winds.

“Having our delivery partners already in place, working together to a shared goal means that we’re able to accurately predict the benefits that Aspen can deliver”, Cerulean Winds founding director Dan Jackson said in an online statement.

Jackson and co-founder Mark Dixon accompanied Energy Minister Michael Shanks on Tuesday’s tour of the Port of Ardersier, an under-construction redevelopment project that will serve as the deployment hub for Aspen and Cerulean Wind’s two other offshore wind projects in Scotland.

“The clean energy transition is well underway in Scotland – thanks to state-of-the-art offshore wind projects, like this one at the Port of Ardersier, that will help us deliver on our Plan for Change and clean power by 2030 mission”, Shanks said.

In January Cerulean Winds selected Ardersier Port as its deployment hub. The redevelopment project, called the Ardersier Energy Transition Facility, is designed as an offshore wind manufacturing, storage and integration site in the Moray Firth. The site spans 450 acres and will have over 650 meters (2,132.55 feet) of quay initially. A planned future expansion will add one kilometer (0.62 miles) of quay, according to owner Ardersier Port (Scotland) Ltd., trading as Haventus. Haventus plans to open the redeveloped port this year.

Cerulean Winds is developing 3 GW of offshore wind projects in the central North Sea. It aims to put into service the first of these, Aspen, in 2029.

“This early investment will help establish the industrial foundation needed to maximize domestic economic benefits from ScotWind’s planned buildout from 2030”, Cerulean Winds said in an online statement then.

The ScotWind leasing process has unlocked the potential to develop nearly 30 GW of power in Scottish waters over the next decade.

“By 2050, FLOW [floating offshore wind] could contribute more than GBP 47 billion to the UK economy and employ 100,000 people”, Cerulean said. “Ardersier will support achieving these targets by deploying and servicing offshore wind installations, providing green jobs and establishing a UK supply chain to rival international competitors”.

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