Businesses in East Anglia have won contracts worth more than £5.5m over the past 10 months, as work on one of the region's largest offshore wind projects gathers pace.
Located around 47 km from the coast, the Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone (NOWZ) is set to be one of the largest offshore wind schemes in the world, providing renewable electricity for 4.2 million UK homes each year.
And delivering the three wind farms that make up the zone - Norfolk Boreas, Norfolk Vanguard West and Norfolk Vanguard East - has provided a huge boost to the local economy.
As work starts on the Norfolk Offshore Wind Zone cable corridor between Necton and Happisburgh, a total of 40 East Anglian businesses have been awarded contracts worth £5.6m by Murphy, the project's main contractor.
Businesses delivering services from fencing supplies to traffic management, hedge cutting to aggregates and marketing services to aerial drone footage have been contributing to the project from their bases across East Anglia.
They include commercial drone operator HexCam, which is based in Felthorpe.
The firm won a £100,000 contract with Murphy to fly drones down the cable corridor - which is being constructed between Necton to Happisburgh to transport energy generated - to monitor construction work throughout 2024.
Director Rowley Cory-Wright said work would help the firm to take on new staff and invest in new equipment.
He added: “The offshore wind industry in Norfolk and Suffolk is the lifeblood of HexCam.
“Monthly flights, which started in October last year, generate high-resolution Google Earth style maps so the Murphy team can keep a close eye on activities.
For Mark Haysman, managing director of TMO Highways, being awarded the traffic management contract for the duration of the project has allowed him to expand his 80-strong workforce and take on new trainees, including armed forces leavers.
The company, with bases at Pulham Market, Eye, Wisbech, St Neots and Witham, will manage road closures, traffic lights, and all highway traffic management to make all the works on the road safe.
Mr Haysman said: “Murphy is a huge business, and my experience is that they engage on a very local level wherever they can.
“The project will definitely bring employment and investment to the region. It is not just in what they are doing directly, it will bring both businesses in and benefit the area ultimately.”
Over the next seven years, construction of the wind zone is predicted to directly support around 1,000 local jobs annually.
Andy Ingram, Murphy Project Director, said: “Large projects of national importance such as this play an important role in supporting existing suppliers and also providing a platform for new start-ups to establish themselves during the seven- year delivery programme.
“We have already seen a high level of engagement from the supply chain during the mobilisation phase of the scheme and we will continue to work closely with the East Anglia region to deliver the project and leave a positive legacy”.
WHAT IS HAPPENING AT NORFOLK OFFSHORE WIND ZONE?
After a tumultuous year for Vattenfall, the Swedish energy giant behind NOWZ, the development rights to the project were sold to the German energy firm RWE in December 2023.
Work had been paused on Norfolk Boreas, one of the three approved wind farms in the zone, due to rising costs and supply chain issues, but following the sale construction is set to resume at some point in 2024.
Until then, Vattenfall said it will continue to develop the Vanguard East and Vanguard West projects.
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