The company has already started work in Asturias and today it is starting work at the former Imenosa.
Initial forecasts suggested that the two offshore wind power contracts won in recent months by Navantia and Windar renovables would be launched in June, but the start has finally been brought forward. Thus, at the Asturian company’s facilities, work began last Friday on cutting the steel for the manufacture of the jacket piles ordered, and it will be today when the manufacture of the steel structures for the East Anglia One wind farm, promoted by Iberdrola, begins at the former Imenosa facility. At the same time, work will also start in Asturias on the Nissum Bredning site, the experimental park to be set up by Siemens in Denmark.
Altogether, there are 46 jackets – 42 corresponding to the East Anglia One site in the UK and four for Siemens – which will be executed simultaneously over the next few months, although the second of these is due to be delivered in July, according to José Carlos Álvarez, Windar’s plant manager. Iberdrola’s order has a longer completion period of 15 months.
While Windar Renovables is returning to the facilities of the former Imenosa, where it has already materialised the transition pieces – where the wind turbines are attached – of the previous jackets for Iberdrola, the 29 that were made in the estuary for the Wikinger wind farm, in the workshops of the former Astano the work on the rest of the foundations will begin in the last week of May, as confirmed by Roberto Bouzas, project manager of Nervión Industries, Navantia’s main subcontractor in this market.
Selection of companies
Nervión has already finalised the selection of the companies that will participate in the development of the different works, both for the East Anglia One and Nissum Bredning parks. Ninety percent of them belong to the region of Ferrol, such as Ártabro Samdeu, Talleres Mecánicos Galicia, Calsomatu, Cooperativa Iris, Intaf, Acebrón, Prometal, Galictio, Buqueland and Indasa. The Asturian company Mesana and Rotelo, from Tui, will also carry out the work.
Nervión calculates that the estimated cost of subcontracting both offshore wind projects will be fifteen million euros.
In addition to the economic impact that the execution of the works will have on the two wind farms, the works will also lead to an increase in employment, mainly among auxiliary companies, which are the ones that take on the bulk of the tasks. Thus, José Carlos Álvarez stated that, at the peak of the activity, Windar will have around 350 workers assigned to both contracts. Roberto Bouzas added that the tasks entrusted to Nervión will employ around 900 people in the different auxiliary firms, also at peak times.
The orders from East Anglia One and Nissum Bredning will imply an upturn in the activity at the Fene shipyard, precisely when the only wind power order that the former Astano has in force is about to be completed, the Hywind order, which has involved the manufacture for the experimental floating wind farm of Statoil in Scotland.
End of Hywind
In this sense, tomorrow the semi-submersible vessel Albatross will be transferred from the inner harbour to dock number ten of Navantia Fene, where it will load the first two structures for the aforementioned wind farm. On the 22nd, a new shipment to Norway will take place with only one piece, and on the 8th of June, the transfers will be completed with a voyage in which another two foundations will sail on board the ship.
LA VOZ DE GALICIA
