Northumberland showcases potential for offshore wind

Advance Northumberland will be the headline sponsor of the Offshore Wind North East (OWNE) event for the third year running.

Taking place entirely online this year, the event, organised by business development organisation NOF and taking place on Thursday and Friday, November 5 and 6, attracts delegates from all areas of the offshore wind industry and supply chain.

It comes as the Government is pledging that offshore wind farms will generate enough electricity to power every home in the UK within a decade and offering funding of £160million to upgrade ports and factories for building turbines.

Advance, which is wholly owned by Northumberland County Council, has a key role in supporting the sector in the region, through its ongoing development of Northumberland Energy Park Phase 1 (NEP1).

This site on the Blyth estuary will provide a prime investment opportunity for large-scale advanced manufacturing and engineering companies who supply products and services to the offshore wind industry.

Advance’s chairman, Cllr Richard Wearmouth, said: “Having sponsored Offshore Wind North East for the last two years, we know the great amount of effort that is put into organising this industry showcase and the steps NOF takes to enable businesses to collaborate and network with key organisations.

“At this year’s Offshore Wind North East, we will be demonstrating the role that large-scale development sites such as Northumberland Energy Park will have in supporting North East England’s offshore wind cluster, which now more than ever has a vital role to play in the development of the UK sector, as well as at a global level.

“We applaud the NOF team for responding to the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic and creating a comprehensive programme for Offshore Wind North East and we are delighted to be both sponsoring and exhibiting at the event.”

NEP1 is part of Energy Central, a partnership between Advance, Port of Blyth, the county council and the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult.

The development is well underway, and the site will include a new dock, which is being funded by a £32million public-sector investment.

It’s situated close to the ORE Catapult at Blyth, which operates the largest concentration of multi-purpose offshore renewable energy test and research facilities in the world.

For more information about the event, visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/offshore-wind-north-east-2020-tickets-81445153647

For more on NEP1, see https://www.investnorthumberland.co.uk/sites/nothumberland-energy-park-phase-1/

The dramatic events of 2020 are having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers and consequently the advertising that we receive. We are now more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news by buying a copy of our newspaper. If you can, please do pick up a copy when you are at the shops. Thank you for your support.