The developer of a £3bn offshore wind farm in the North Sea has taken an influential role in the Energy Central Campus that aims to train people for jobs in Northumberland's emerging energy cluster.
German firm RWE has become a key sponsor of the campus, a partnership between the Port of Blyth, Northumberland County Council and the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult which is intended to feed a pipeline of skills or the expanding clean energy sector. As a platinum business sponsor, RWE will "directly influence" the campus' activities including inspiring young people into careers in the sector and developing energy sector expertise at degree and PhD levels.
RWE is behind the major, 100-turbine Sofia Offshore Wind Farm in the Dogger Bank area of the North Sea. Once completed, it will provided enough capacity to meet the electricity needs of 1.2m º£½ÇÊÓƵ homes.
The multinational is using the Port of Blyth's Bates Clean Energy Terminal - which is close to the £15m Energy Central Learning Hub - as a construction base for the project, which is expected to be operational from 2026. Partners in Energy Central Campus have said the proximity provides an opportunity to showcase the wind farm project to learners and the local community, and highlight the range of career paths available within RWE.
Martin Lawlor, chair of ECC, said: "I am delighted to welcome RWE Sofia as Platinum Business Sponsor for ECC. RWE’ Sofia’s expertise in renewable energy and ongoing investment in providing placement and apprenticeship opportunities to young people make them the ideal partner to strengthen our delivery and help us achieve our goal of creating a highly skilled workforce of the future for the clean energy industry."
Graham Wright, senior supply chain manager, RWE added: "RWE Sofia is proud to support the Energy Central Campus as a Platinum Business Sponsor. This initiative represents a bold step forward in driving innovation, fostering collaboration, and shaping the future of clean energy. Positioned near our largest and most sophisticated projects to date, this initiative presents an excellent opportunity to create a lasting impact in Blyth and play an important role in this transformative initiative."
In recent days, a major milestone was acknowledged in the construction of the Sofia site, with more than a quarter of the farm's foundations having been installed in the Dogger Bank zone. Dutch firm Van Oord has been carrying out much of the work and has been using the nearby Tyne Clean Energy Park as its base and storage for various components used in the construction.
