RWE welcomed local MPs Lia Nici and Martin Vickers to its expanding Grimsby Hub, a new state of the art operations and maintenance facility, currently under construction at the company’s existing site in Grimsby’s Royal Docks. During the visit, the MPs took a tour around the facility, met with staff
RWE has appointed Humber-based firm Hobson & Porter to complete the construction of its new state-of-the-art operations and maintenance facility known as the Grimsby Hub. The multi-million pound contract includes an extension to the existing Triton Knoll Offshore Wind Farm operations base located at Grimsby’s Royal Dock, and includes the
RWE Generation & Shell New Energies will explore the possibilities of establishing integrated projects for the production of green hydrogen using offshore wind power on a gigawatt scale in the industrial regions in the north-east of England such as Teesside and/or Humberside. The plan is one of the steps set
BDC 319 : Aug 2024
RWE welcomed local MPs Lia Nici and Martin Vickers to its expanding Grimsby Hub, a new state of the art operations and maintenance facility, currently under construction at the company’s existing site in Grimsby’s Royal Docks. During the visit, the MPs took a tour around the facility, met with staff and had the opportunity to hear more about RWE’s future planned investment in the region. RWE is responsible for operating the existing Humber Gateway and Triton Knoll offshore wind farms from the Grimsby Docks as well as the construction of the Sofia offshore wind farm and the development of a further two offshore wind farms on Dogger Bank in the North Sea. Once fully operational, the Grimsby Hub will be the operations base for Triton Knoll and Sofia as well as hosting RWE’s Centralised Control Room (CCR), where technicians will oversee the operation of the vast majority of the company’s UK offshore portfolio, further reaffirming the Humber’s role as a leading location for the UK’s offshore wind sector. Humber-based firm Hobson & Porter is responsible for the construction of the multi-million pound facility, which is expected to accommodate around 140 RWE employees in total. The Grimsby Hub has the potential to bring around 70 new skilled jobs to the region, plus indirect jobs required in support. Although still under construction, recruitment is well underway with the opening of over 20 technician roles in support of the Sofia offshore wind farm. The location of the Grimsby Hub at the Royal Docks was chosen because of its proximity to existing and future projects and its deep-water quayside, which is suited to the use of Service Operations Vessels (SOVs). Construction is due to complete next year and will include a joint control room offering 24/7 monitoring of multiple sites, new shared office space, and separate warehouse facilities. Guy Middleton, RWE General Manager for the Grimsby Hub, hosted the visit and said: “It was fantastic to welcome Lia and Martin to the Grimsby Hub to discuss our investment plans for the local region, which will bring plenty of skilled roles and provide many opportunities for the regional supply chain.” RWE’s newly appointed Director for Net Zero East Coast UK, Corinne Barry, added: “It is a hugely exciting time for RWE in the Humber with all the new investment proposed, and I cannot wait to see our plans progress. The Humber has gained an enviable reputation in supporting the country’s net zero ambitions and RWE is proud to be a part of its future!” During the visit, the MPs also discussed RWE’s plans for a new carbon capture CCGT power station near Stallingborough which could generate up to 800 MW of decarbonised, secure, flexible energy, enough to potentially power the equivalent of around one million homes. The new power station would be fitted with carbon capture technology andwould make a significant contribution to the UK’s energy security and support our transition to a net zero economy. RWE is working with Harbour Energy to explore options for transporting and storing the captured carbon through its Viking CCS network from both its proposed new power station and its existing Staythorpe power station in Nottinghamshire. Lia Nici MP thanked the team for the visit and said: “It was great to see RWE’s continued investment in its Grimsby Hub offshore wind base, which is set to be a central location for the management of many of the company’s offshore wind farms across the UK – bringing high-quality job opportunities to Grimsby and reinforcing the town’s position as a leader in the sector.” Martin Vickers MP added “The visit also gave us an opportunity to hear about RWE’s wider investment plans in the region, which includes not only further offshore wind projects, but carbon capture investments at its regional power stations, linked to the Viking Carbon Capture and Storage network, which was recently awarded Track-2 development status by the Government.” RWE is the leading power producer in the UK, accounting for around 15% of all electricity generated in the UK through its diverse operational portfolio of onshore wind, offshore wind, hydro, biomass and gas. Between 2012 and 2021, RWE delivered a 43% reduction in carbon intensity for the electricity produced across its operational portfolio in the UK (0.52 to 0.30 tCO2/MWh). Overall, and including its committed investments in projects already under construction, RWE expects to invest up to £15 billion in new green technologies and infrastructure in the UK by 2030. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
RWE has appointed Humber-based firm Hobson & Porter to complete the construction of its new state-of-the-art operations and maintenance facility known as the Grimsby Hub. The multi-million pound contract includes an extension to the existing Triton Knoll Offshore Wind Farm operations base located at Grimsby’s Royal Dock, and includes the creation of a new Centralised Control Room (CCR) to oversee the operation of the vast majority of RWE’s UK Offshore portfolio, helping to cement Grimsby’s role as a leading location for the UK’s offshore wind sector. RWE announced the creation of the Grimsby Hub back in 2021, marking a major strategic commitment to the UK’s east coast. As well as Triton Knoll, RWE’s 1.4 gigawatt (GW) Sofia Offshore Wind Farm, currently under construction, will also locate its operations and maintenance activities to the new hub in the future. In total, RWE expects the new facility will accommodate around 140 RWE employees, with potentially around 70 new local jobs created, plus indirect jobs required in support. The Grimsby Hub will also enable the company to strengthen its relationship with the region’s businesses and local communities, by committing to a longer-term presence in the area. The location of the Grimsby Hub was chosen because of its proximity to existing and future projects and its deep-water quayside, which is suited to the use of Service Operations Vessels (SOVs). Construction is due to commence shortly and will take around one year to complete. Once construction has finished, the new facility will include a joint control room offering 24/7 monitoring of multiple sites, new shared office space, and separate warehouse facilities. Guy Middleton, RWE general manager for the Grimsby Hub said: “We are thrilled to have Hobson & Porter onboard to complete the extensive construction works required to extend the existing Triton Knoll facilities. It is great to have been able to award the contract to a local firm which brings a wealth of experience to the project. We can’t wait for construction to finish and provide even more locally based, skilled jobs for the region.” Hobson & Porter is an award-winning construction firm operating across the Yorkshire and Lincolnshire region and shares a lot of the same principles as RWE including being community focused, environmentally pro-active and they have a longstanding commitment to develop skills and training. Joe Booth, business development director for Hobson & Porter said: “We are delighted to be working with RWE on this exciting project and continuing our strong affiliation with both the Humber-based offshore wind industry and the town of Grimsby. This project will take our business revenues from the offshore wind industry beyond £25million in recent years having previously delivered the adjacent East Coast Hub for Orsted and the Aura Innovation centre in Hessle for The University of Hull; plus a number of other smaller projects. “For a local, family-owned business like ours, this is testament to the vast array of business opportunities the offshore wind sector is creating for local businesses, especially when you consider that not one of our 120 local employees have ever had to step offshore to attain or deliver these projects. We look forward to seeing this one, once complete.” RWE is a leading player in renewables and expects to invest more than €50 billion gross by 2030 to grow its green core business, globally, with £15 billion earmarked for the UK. During 2022, the 856 megawatts (MW) Triton Knoll offshore wind farm became fully operational, while RWE’s 1.4 GW Sofia offshore wind farm is now well into construction. RWE is also involved in four of the UK’s seven offshore wind extension projects and recently signed Agreements for Lease for their two Dogger Bank South offshore wind farm sites. Meanwhile the company is also exploring floating wind projects including in the Celtic Sea region. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
RWE Generation & Shell New Energies will explore the possibilities of establishing integrated projects for the production of green hydrogen using offshore wind power on a gigawatt scale in the industrial regions in the north-east of England such as Teesside and/or Humberside. The plan is one of the steps set out in a recently signed Memorandum of Understanding between the two companies to jointly advance projects for the production, use, and distribution of green hydrogen, as well as further options to decarbonise RWE gas and biomass-fired power plants in northwest Europe. The aim of the MoU is to identify concrete project options which could then be developed toward investment decisions, the two companies said. ”Effective climate action needs cross-sector and cross-national cooperation. In our cooperation with Shell, we want to develop solutions that combine new approaches with proven technologies and, above all, can be applied quickly and on a large scale. We will also contribute our special expertise in the development of offshore wind projects as well as the provision of energy in the form of electricity, heat and, in the future, green hydrogen for our customers,” said Markus Krebber, CEO of RWE. RWE and Shell already have a background of cooperation through the NortH2 project in the Netherlands, and AquaVentus in Germany.
