RES, a British business and the world’s largest independent renewable energy company, is powering up its partnership with ScottishPower Renewables, part of the Iberdrola group, after winning a significant contract to deliver high voltage (HV) services at the offshore wind farm, East Anglia THREE.
East Anglia THREE Wind Farm, which entered construction in 2022, is a 1.4GW offshore wind farm, located approximately 69km from the Suffolk shoreline. RES’ HV team will take responsibility for managing all aspects of electrical safety during the construction and commissioning phase of the project. RES’ role as HV contractor will be to ensure the implementation of ScottishPower Renewables’ electrical and mechanical safety rules as the primary switching authority until the operational handover to the Operations & Maintenance (O&M) provider.
RES will also be supporting construction by providing the installation and management of a control centre service, situated on-site, covering the wind farm, converter stations and export cable. Furthermore, RES will be utilising a range of contractors, including Suffolk based businesses, to help deliver the works, supporting investment and skilled jobs in the local economy.
Simon Deacon, Operations and Maintenance Director for RES in the UK&I commented: “We’re delighted to be awarded a defining contract for East Anglia THREE. After launching our in-house HV team just last year, a successful agreement like this one is a testament to the quality, capability, and dedication of our unique HV renewables service, which is an essential element of many operational contracts in a growing industry.
This new contract follows the launch of the Offshore Wind O&M Partnership (OWOP) between RES and three other complementary offshore O&M service providers. The Partnership will fill the much-needed gap for a ‘one stop shop’ for all core O&M services.”
Ross Ovens, ScottishPower Renewables’ Managing Director for the East Anglia Hub, said: “East Anglia THREE will be the second largest wind farm in the world when it comes into operation in 2026, producing enough green electricity to power the equivalent of more than one million homes.
Working with the right partners will be key to ensuring we deliver this exciting project as planned and it’s great to have RES on board for this vital element of the programme.”
RES formed their HV team in 2022 in response to a broader industry appeal for a dependable, high-quality, safety-focused, renewables HV service. Since launching, RES’ HV team have delivered on a number of solar, storage, onshore wind and offshore transmission projects with an experienced and substantial O&M division behind them. This is just the latest contract between ScottishPower Renewables and RES, following agreements to provide services for East Anglia ONE onshore substation as well as a newly signed contract with Ailes Marines, a subsidiary of Iberdrola, to deliver O&M work on the Saint-Brieuc Offshore Wind Farm.
In total, the ScottishPower Renewables East Anglia Hub will deliver a combined installed capacity of 3.6GW, with East Anglia THREE accounting for 1.4GW of this capacity powered by 95 turbines over 250m high. The HV work on East Anglia THREE is anticipated to start in Q1 2024 and expected to be completed by Q1 2027.
As a result of recent business growth, RES is also seeking to expand its’ dedicated HV team. Due to the East Anglia THREE contract, two additional roles have been created. The technical roles are for a Lead Senior Authorised Person (SAP), who is authorised to work up to 400KV, as well as a Senior Project Manager. RES is a family with a diverse workforce who are regarded as their most important asset.
