Picture shows progress as £900m Teesside wind factory '90 per cent' complete

A new picture has revealed major progress being made on one of the world’s largest offshore wind plants being built on Teesside.

SeAH Wind’s £900 million monopile manufacturing facility on the south bank of the River Tees at Teesworks is currently 90 per cent complete. Once finished, the 800-metre-long building will be the world’s biggest monopile facility and the only one of its kind in the UK.

Each week, the 40 metre high building will annually produce two to four monopiles - the structures which form the foundations of offshore wind turbines. Following an agreement between SeAH, British Steel and Severfield, British Steel have supplied 30,000 tonnes of steel into the development with the sections coming from our Teesside Beam Mill at nearby Lackenby.

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British Steel commercial director for construction, Ben Cunliffe said: “It’s exciting to see the progress being made on this expansive development which was one of the largest projects in the UK this year, and this is a truly fantastic example of levelling up in the UK, with probably the largest regeneration area across the UK happening right on our doorstep in Teesside.

“Not only does it demonstrate the strength of local supply chains, it shows how British Steel and Teesside remain at the forefront of the UK construction market. We were involved directly from the outset with the client SeAH Wind, Teesworks, South Tees Development Corporation, the project management firm K2CM, and of course our long standing customer Severfield.

"The project has demonstrated the power of teamwork, with the entire British Steel construction team across commercial, operational, technical, logistics and supply chain playing our part in delivering a highly successful JIT project.”

When fully operational, it is expected 750 direct jobs and 1,500 further supply chain jobs are set to come from the manufacturing facility. Monopiles manufactured at the site will be transported directly from the factory to the newly built Steel River Quay, before heading to the North Sea and beyond for installation.

Ben said: “This development is supporting the transformation of the area and we’re very proud that British Steel is helping our partners build a brighter future for Teesside and its people, and that we are helping to create a new lasting legacy for the area.”

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen added: “Our steel built the world so it’s fantastic to see British Steel at the heart of making Teesside the green energy capital of the UK. The scale of this project is truly breathtaking and a key element has always been to ensure its development supports outstanding local businesses such as Teesside Beam Mill.

“It’s essential Teesworks creates jobs, opportunities and prosperity right here in Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool. Having British Steel at the heart of this game-changing project really is a massive boost, as it means we can make use of our talent and expertise in steelmaking and secure jobs for the future.”

Last week, Teesside Live reported the site has reached a major milestone with the arrival of the first vessel to supply raw materials for production trials to the factory. The Jalonborg, an 89 metre-long supply ship, has docked at the recently completed Steel River Quay after sailing from Europe with a 2,578-tonne cargo of steel plates for the South Korean manufacturer’s factory, just a few hundred yards from the quay on the south bank of the River Tees.

It took two and a half days to unload at the quay, before being transferred to the factory which is rapidly taking shape nearby. The quay will also perform a crucial role for the SeAH Wind factory’s output hosting the vessels which will eventually transport the giant monopiles out to sea once they are completed.

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