Our construction of the Operations and Maintenance (O&M) base for Dogger Bank Wind Farm, in the Port of Tyne, has positively impacted the region’s economy with over £7.5 million re-invested throughout the North-East.

We are committed to engaging local supply chain partners and a key focus has been placed on procuring local goods and services on all our projects.

To date, over £4.4million has been spent within the South Tyneside Local Authority area including South Tyneside-based Castle Building Services Limited and Thompsons of Prudhoe Limited. Numerous other sub-contractors from across the region including Newcastle based Chemplas Limited and Durham based Wyn Construction Limited have also been engaged on the project’s further £3.1million local spend.

Dogger Bank JV partners Equinor, SSE Renewables and Eni, were also keen to ensure that local businesses were involved in the scheme which is due to complete this Autumn. Mark Halliday, Dogger Bank Operations Director, said: “We are extremely proud to be working with so many local businesses for the construction of our operations and maintenance base. We will continue to bring more North-East expertise into the project, as we move into the O&M phase, so the local community can benefit from this world leading project.”

Bowmer + Kirkland Project Manager, Liz Wilson, said: “Each project that B+K delivers provides an opportunity for us to significantly benefit the communities in which we operate. As a contractor with offices located in the North-East, we are committed to supporting regional growth by providing opportunities for local supply chain partners to engage with projects such as the Dogger Bank operations and maintenance base.”

The project, which is located at the Port of Tyne, has provided opportunities for local companies including those classified as micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), which account for 89% of the supply chain. Packages equating to 95% of the construction cost to date, have been awarded to MSME’s.

We started on site in September 2021 and as work progresses and further packages are made available, we will continue to engage with supply chain partners who are based in close proximity to the project with the aim of increasing the high level of regional investment already generated by the project. The project previously announced that the base will be constructed and operated in line with the UK Green Building Council’s (UKGBC) Net Zero Carbon Buildings Framework.

Dogger Bank will be world’s largest offshore wind farm upon completion in 2026. Dogger Bank Wind Farm is located more than 130km off the north-east coast of England. In total the wind farm is expected to generate enough renewable electricity to supply 5% of the UK’s demand, equivalent to powering six million homes.