Energising the UK’s Offshore Windfarm Capabilities
New subsea power cable manufacturing and R&D facility to enhance the UK’s growing offshore windfarm capabilities, while helping to reassert the North East of England as a manufacturing heartland.
Through the creation of an expanded manufacturing facility of high voltage subsea power cables that will mainly service energy infrastructure in offshore wind energy and inter-connector markets, JDR Cable Systems (JDR) will help to increase renewable energy supply in the UK, further cementing its position as Europe’s largest offshore renewable energy market. With higher capacity from larger scale production, JDR will attend to needs beyond regional UK demand via exports to connect the global offshore energy industry.
This project marks a milestone for the UK’s energy transition as the new 69,000 sqm facility, built on the site of a legacy coal fired power station, becomes the only facility in the UK capable of full start-to-finish manufacturing of high voltage subsea cables for offshore wind farms. Moreover, by contributing to the rebuilding of the regional manufacturing economy in Northumberland in the North East of England, this strategic project falls into both the UK government’s ‘levelling-up’ agenda and net-zero strategy.
This initiative reinforces JDR’s commitment to building sustainable infrastructure with a positive economic, social and environmental impact. Construction of the facility, due to take place from 2022-2024, will give a boost to the local economy by creating 170 new skilled local jobs and safeguarding a further 270 jobs across JDR in the UK.
Societe Generale is committed to enabling the development of a more sustainable energy landscape globally and is proud to have supported JDR Cable Systems in this ambitious £140 million windfarm infrastructure project in the UK by acting as Financial Advisor and ECA Co-ordinator for the UK Export Finance-covered green financing and bonding lines.
As the energy transition gathers pace and the UK’s offshore wind sector continues to thrive, turbines are growing taller and farther from shore, calling for higher voltage subsea cables. We’re delighted to build on our legacy as a leading provider of subsea cables to the offshore energy sector by investing in this new facility. We’re also delighted to be working with Societe Generale to continue our investment in the North East of England, and bring in new jobs to Cambois, Blyth and Northumberland. Our proposed facility is strategically located to capitalise on the rapidly growing and largest offshore renewable energy market in Europe.
It has never been more important to strengthen energy security in the UK and around the world as we reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and face instability in global energy markets. Our support for UK companies who are enabling the transition, such as JDR, is vital in securing a cleaner and more secure future. This will create jobs and unlock vital trading opportunities.
We are delighted to have advised JDR for the first stage of this new facility, which marks a significant milestone for the company’s plans to support the growing offshore wind sector, whilst also creating jobs for local communities. As the power generation capacity and demand for offshore wind projects gets bigger and bigger, so must the supporting infrastructure such as the power transmission capacity of cables like those manufactured by JDR. This infrastructure is critical to the success of renewable energy projects, as well as for the success of the UK’s net zero strategy and the world’s energy transition agenda.