Energy company E.ON has awarded the contract for design and fabrication of the Humber Gateway offshore wind farm substation jacket to Harland and Wolff Heavy Industries Limited.

E.ON, one of the UK’s leading power and gas companies, is developing the 219MW offshore wind farm, located 8km off the East Yorkshire coast, just north of the river Humber. When commissioned, Humber Gateway will be able to provide enough power for approximately 170,000 UK homes.

The Harland and Wolff scope of work comprises the design and fabrication of the substation jacket (foundation) and piles, totalling circa 1,300 tonnes. The jacket will be completed, ready for installation Q1 2014.

Harland and Wolff Chief Executive Officer Robert J Cooper said, ‘We are delighted to have been awarded this important contract. After a long series of successfully completed offshore wind projects, Harland and Wolff are determined to continue demonstrating that we are the construction partner of choice.’ He continued, ‘Harland and Wolff enjoy a great working relationship with E.ON, having worked previously on the Robin Rigg offshore wind farm together. We’re looking forward to continuing to develop this relationship.’

E.ON Project Manager Matthew Swanwick said, ‘Humber Gateway is a significant step in our strategic aim to deliver cleaner and better energy, by offering innovative energy services and technologies. Generating wind power out at sea is a real technical challenge, both during the construction and operational phases of projects, and that is why it so important to work with reliable and experienced fabricators. Harland and Wolff is a well-proven supplier and we look forward to a successful project.’

The Humber Gateway is due to be complete in 2015.

Image Above: Humber Gateway Jacket comprising a steelwork structure pinned to the seabed that supports the offshore transformer substation

Notes to editors:
• E.ON is one of the UK’s leading power and gas companies – generating electricity, retailing power and gas, developing gas storage and undertaking gas and oil exploration and production. It is part of the E.ON group, one of the world’s largest investor-owned power and gas companies. E.ON employs around 12,000 people in the UK and more than 79,000 worldwide;
• In the UK, E.ON supplies power and gas to around five million domestic, small and medium-sized enterprise and industrial customers – meaning the company has to buy approximately 122.7 billion kWh of power and gas each year to meet their needs. E.ON also offers innovative energy services and technologies tailored to meet its customers’ needs, and is helping customers become energy efficient by encouraging them to insulate their homes, moderate their energy usage and even generate their own power;
• E.ON’s Reset Review continues to identify and discuss changes with customers through its 28,000-strong YourSay panel, its independent Customer Council comprising business leader Allan Leighton, ex-MP and Select Committee chair Paddy Tipping and E.ON Customer Service Advisor Joanne Sheridan, its 1,000-strong MySay employee panel and through discussions with consumer advocacy groups such as Which? and Consumer Focus. Changes made to date include: helping customers control their bills: fair prices, simple products, transparent profits, a fairer way of paying: providing stability to help households budget, improving customer service: consistency, easier contact, and the confidence to complain;
• E.ON has topped several categories – including best for overall customer satisfaction, best value for money and best reward scheme – to be voted Britain’s favourite energy supplier 2012 in the uSwitch.com Customer Satisfaction Awards. The independent report and awards are published annually and are based on a YouGov poll of over 5,000 energy customers;
• E.ON’s generation portfolio includes world-class gas-, coal- and oil-fired power stations. E.ON is a market leader in combined heat and power (CHP), and is one of the UK’s leading green generators with 22 wind farms and the UK’s first wave power generator, with another 1,500MW of renewable capacity under development;
• One of the many ways E.ON leads the energy industry is through its commitment to market liquidity and transparency as evidenced by its actions on the day-ahead UK power markets including the N2EX auction. E.ON was the first company to sign a gross-bidding agreement with N2EX and leads the market with a volume equivalent to some 60% of E.ON UK’s generation activity being traded so far this year.

About Harland and Wolff Heavy Industries
Harland and Wolff Heavy Industries is a subsidiary of Norway-based Fred Olsen Energy. Based in Belfast H&W is a multi-disciplinary advanced engineering firm with focus on offshore conventional and renewable energy technologies.