It has dominated parts of Lowestoft's skyline for a number of months.

This striking 1,500ft structure has been worked upon by Sembmarine SLP Ltd (SLP) at their Hamilton Road site.

Today, the 954-tonne jacket will – subject to weather conditions – be loaded on to a barge ready to be shipped out to a windfarm off the north Norfolk coast.

The engineering specialists have been working with Siemens Transmission and Distribution Ltd (STDL) to build an offshore facility for the Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm owned by Statoil, Statkraft and Masdar.

The windfarm will be located 20 miles off the coast of Cromer.

The facility comprises a topside and jacket structure, the latter of which uses suction bucket technology – a first for a substation in UK waters.

About six metres of the nine-metre bucket height is sunk into the sea bed on installation to provide a firm and stable base for the structure.

Project manager Matthew Wooltorton said: 'I am really proud of what our team here has achieved on a labour-intensive, highly-skilled and complex engineering project.

'The care and finish which has gone into the project is outstanding.

'We have the skills to complete these challenging projects here in Lowestoft. Ninety per cent of our workforce lives in Lowestoft, with 10pc living within commutable distance. We do not need to bring in skills.

'Just think – when people flick a switch in their homes for the next 25 years, they will get electricity generated off our local coastline from a substation designed and built by Lowestoft people.'