Tolent kicks off construction of Triton Knoll’s new base on Grimsby’s Royal Dock
Work to construct a new multi-million offshore construction and operations base for Triton Knoll has officially started at Grimsby’s Royal Dock, as UK based contractor Tolent get started on site.
Having been awarded the contract last month, Tolent has now begun work to construct control room, office and warehouse facilities that will become the new operations and maintenance base for the 857 megawatt (MW) offshore wind farm.
Constructed across almost four acres of prime port location, the project itself creates opportunities for local jobs and suppliers as well as over 70 direct, high skilled jobs which will operate out of the new base.
Coinciding with the start of construction, a recruitment drive to secure the first 20 of the technician roles is also due to begin this month, with the aim to having the first post holders based out of Grimsby by the end of this year.
Triton Knoll is a state-of-the-art offshore wind farm and the largest in the portfolio of majority project shareholder Innogy that is currently in construction. Once fully operational, it will be capable of generating enough renewable energy for the equivalent of over 800,000 typical UK households.(1)
Julian Garnsey, project director for Triton Knoll and innogy, said: “We’re delighted to be able to welcome Tolent, another north east based-firm to the Triton Knoll team. This further reinforces our commitment to investing in and creating long-term, skilled jobs in this region.
“This work in Grimsby represents an exciting phase for Triton Knoll, as it establishes our long-term home in the region, and prepares the way for the start of offshore construction which will begin in early 2020.”
Triton Knoll will consist of 90 MHI Vestas turbines, each with a maximum installed capacity of 9.5MW. Triton Knoll Offshore Wind Farm is owned by innogy, J-Power and Kansai Electric Power, with innogy managing the construction as well as the long-term operation and maintenance works on behalf of its project partners.
The port will support regular, long-term vessel movements including service operations vessels and crew transfer vessels once work finishes on site in July 2020.
Nick Hazelgrave, regional commercial director for Tolent, said: “This contract win is another great addition to our work in the offshore sector, adding to a variety of experience across sectors including industrial, commercial, retail, hospitality and housing.
“Triton Knoll is a new client for us and it’s been fantastic to learn more about their activities across this industry as we walked around the site today. Our team is now underway with delivering another quality job as we look to increase our work across the central region of the UK.”
Tolent will also install an 800m2 modular building and associated services to accommodate the quayside operations, along with a car park for the offshore wind farm.
Tolent has been working across the central region since 1990, delivering a variety of contracts from industrial, leisure and more recently student accommodation.