International heavy lift and transport specialist ALE, has been awarded a four year Crane Framework Agreement from Siemens for the deployment of cranes, specialized transport equipment and personnel.
The contract is for the period 2016-19, and has a value in excess of £43 million (US$ 62 million). It covers the Siemens harbour based offshore wind sites in the UK and Germany, and fulfils the requirements of the company’s offshore logistics concept, presented in 2015.
Approximately three quarters of the contract value relates to UK offshore projects, all of which will involve blade export or pre-assembly at Siemens’ new facilities in Hull, UK. The work involves onshore heavy lifting, transport and pre-assembly for offshore wind operations. The contract is effective from the beginning of June 2016.
Clark MacFarlane, managing director, wind power division at Siemens, said, “Given the high proportion of the work covered by this contract that will take place in the UK, we are delighted to be able to appoint a British supplier with an international reputation in this field. This contract is a great step for our development in Hull and the offshore industry in the UK, which is committed to growing the content of offshore wind farms that is made in the UK.”
With its partner, Associated British Ports, Siemens is investing £310 million ($446 million) in the development. The Siemens facilities will create 1,000 direct jobs and many more during the construction phase and in the supply chain.
The first offshore wind power plant to benefit from the newly constructed Hull harbour, Alexandra Dock, will be the Dudgeon project off the Norfolk coast. Dudgeon is owned by Norwegian energy companies Statoil and Statkraft and Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company Masdar. It will be operated by Statoil. The Dudgeon wind farm will comprise 67 of Siemens’ 6 megawatt (MW) offshore wind turbines. With an overall capacity of 402 MW, Dudgeon will provide power to more than 410,000 UK households.
The first wind turbine blades to be manufactured by Siemens in Hull are scheduled for production towards the end of 2016. The first workers who will be taking up the new posts there have started their training.
