SSE Selects O&M Base for UK's 1.4GW Berwick Bank B Offshore Wind Project

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 28, SSE Renewables announced that it has selected Montrose Port on the coast of Angus, Scotland, as the preferred operations and maintenance base for the 1.4GW Berwick Bank B offshore wind project. SSE plans to build a new O&M center at the port's South Harbour. Once the project is operational, it will add approximately 100 full-time positions, mainly technicians and engineers responsible for the daily operation of the offshore wind farm, with the related positions expected to cover the wind farm's operational life of more than 35 years.

The new base will be developed by repurposing existing office facilities of the Montrose Port Authority, and construction is expected to support approximately 30 construction jobs. Montrose Port currently already serves as the operations base for SSE's Seagreen offshore wind farm. With the addition of Berwick Bank B, the port will further take on long-term O&M business for multiple offshore wind projects along Scotland's east coast.

Berwick Bank B is located off the east coast of Scotland on the outer edge of the Firth of Forth, about 38 kilometers from the coast, and is part of SSE's planned 4.1GW Berwick Bank offshore wind project. In January this year, Berwick Bank B secured a 1.4GW, 20-year power generation contract in the UK's seventh Contracts for Difference (CfD) allocation round. SSE is currently advancing the project toward the final investment decision stage, with FID expected in 2027.

The entire Berwick Bank project has a planned installed capacity of up to 4.1GW and is wholly owned by SSE Renewables. If all three phases, A, B, and C, receive support and proceed to construction, the number of full-time O&M positions at Montrose Port related to the project could increase to nearly 300. SSE disclosed that once the full 4.1GW project is completed, it is expected to generate approximately 18TWh of electricity annually, enough to meet more than 6% of the UK's current electricity demand.