NORTH Star Renewables has been awarded contracts worth an estimated £270 million to deliver three state-of-the-art service operation vessels (SOVs) to be used on what will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm, the 3.6GW Dogger Bank Wind Farm in the North Sea.
The company is set to take on 130 new workers after landing the win following “a highly-competitive tender process to secure the deal to design and deliver the three-vessel service operation fleet for Dogger Bank Wind Farm, which is currently being built by joint venture partners SSE Renewables, Equinor and Eni.
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North Star will deliver the SOVs to Dogger Bank Wind Farm operator Equinor from Summer 2023 for a ten-year period, with an option for three one-year extensions.
Recruitment for the new roles will start 12 months ahead of vessel delivery to Dogger Bank’s planned operations base in Port of Tyne.
The new positions will be based across Scotland and the North East of England and will grow North Star’s existing 1,400 strong workforce, 950 of which are in the UK and 350 of which are in Scotland.
Matthew Gordon, North Star chief executive, said: “We are pleased and proud to establish a new relationship with Equinor and are looking forward to working collaboratively with them and their partners, SSE Renewables and Eni.
“We have been working with our existing energy clients in the North Sea for over 40 years, with an outstanding reputation for delivering and operating offshore emergency support vessels safely.
“We are now committed to building on the momentum of this contract award to further our diversification and firmly establish ourselves at the forefront of vessel design and delivery in the global renewables market.”
Welcoming the news of the contract award, Fiona Hyslop, Scottish Government economy secretary, said: “This is excellent news for the Aberdeen based North Star Renewables who are relatively new to the offshore wind sector but have a wealth of experience operating in the North Sea’s oil and gas sector.
“This contract is a welcome example of our domestic supply chain benefitting from the operation and maintenance of an offshore wind project off our coastline, bringing jobs and employment opportunities to communities in Scotland.”
