JDR Cables starts construction of £130M subsea cable facility

The £130M (US$149M) factory will be operational by 2024 and will deliver cables for the offshore wind market.

The project is being supported by the UK Government and the Secretary of State as part of the Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Support Scheme.

The subsea cable manufacturer confirmed it had secured approval for the facility in June 2022. It is being built on the site of a former coal-fired power station.

The new facility at Advance Northumberland’s Northumberland Energy Park will bring more than 200 jobs to the area, in addition to indirect jobs created through the supply chain. JDR Cable Systems first announced plans to open the manufacturing facility in September 2021. When complete, it will include a new catenary continuous vulcanisation line, making it the only facility in the UK capable of full start-to-finish manufacturing of high-voltage subsea cables for offshore windfarms.

JDR marked the start of construction in a ceremony involving JDR staff, local stakeholders, politicians, community leaders and supply chain partners.