Montrose Port to be home port for Seagreen 1

SSE secured a contract for difference at £41.61/MWh (US$50.95/MWh) for the 454-MW Seagreen 1 project.

Located 27 km off the Angus coastline, Seagreen 1 is the furthest from shore of any Scottish offshore windfarm and will become Scotland’s largest when completed.

Seagreen project director John Hill said, “The operations and maintenance base will play an important role in the day-to-day running of Seagreen and we are pleased to confirm Montrose as our preferred home.

“Maintenance activity will be overseen from Montrose Port by our team to ensure the project is able to deliver clean, renewable energy reliably and safely on a day-to-day basis.”

Seagreen’s long-term commitment to Montrose Port Authority will ensure ongoing investment and redevelopment of the existing facilities in line with its remit as a trust port.

Montrose Port Authority chief executive Tom Hutchison said, “SSE Renewables’ decision represents an outstanding opportunity for the local supply chain and will create a number of jobs in the area.”

Mr Hill added, “A project of Seagreen’s scale requires a huge investment and our aim is to utilise local, Scottish and UK-based suppliers where possible during development. Seagreen will be one of Scotland’s most significant construction projects, representing a lifetime investment of around £6.0Bn (US$7.3Bn).”

Long a support and service hub for offshore energy, Montrose Port Authority entered the offshore wind industry earlier this year, providing support for the Hywind offshore windfarm.

In association with logistics specialist NorSea Group (UK) Ltd, the port is providing support for a four-week campaign consisting of five port calls for the anchor handling tug supply vessel, Normand Prosper.