The owners of a Firth of Forth offshore wind farm project announced a new contract to build and charge the project’s generators, creating around 290 jobs at a former BiFab site.

Neart na Gaoithe Offshore Wind (NnG) – owned by EDF Renewables and ESB – has signed a contract to supply the works to Harland & Wolff, the trade name of the facilities, a 100% subsidiary of Saipem and InfraStrata.

Harland & Wolff will fabricate and install eight wind turbine generator jackets for Neart na Gaoithe Offshore Wind. Work on the project will begin on July 1.

The company said the contract will create around 290 direct and indirect Scottish jobs with additional support provided, if needed, by the Arnish factory.

Saipem will install and supply two additional ducts for the offshore substations. It will lay the foundations for the offshore project to anchor the NnG wind turbines to the seabed.

It comes after the company bought two facilities that it will use at BiFab in February this year.

The company acquired the Methill and Arnish yards for £ 850,000. He paid £ 650,000 at the end of the transaction and would pay £ 200,000 when ‘substantial income’ was generated.

The Methil site will focus on manufacturing for the oil and gas, commercial and renewable markets, while Arnish will handle defense, oil and gas, renewable energy, trade and cruises and ferries.

BiFab, which had steel fabrication yards in Fife and the Isle of Lewis, went bankrupt last year after failing to secure new contracts to build offshore platforms for wind turbines.

The company, which is part-owned by the Scottish government and a Canadian engineering company, went into administration late last year.

The Scottish government has invested £ 37million in BiFab through equity and loans, and has offered another £ 15million loan facility.

A Scottish Parliament committee said it was “extremely concerned” about the Scottish government’s lack of transparency and the waste of public money on its management of BiFab.

Matthias Haag, Project Manager at NnG said: “This is an important day for the offshore wind industry in Scotland and for our project. When we announced our major subcontractors in 2019, we made it clear our commitment to the Scottish supply chain and the role it must play in building NnG.

“This is why this contract signing is such good news. We are delighted that the contract has been awarded to Harland & Wolff, with the bulk of the work taking place in Scotland. “

John Wood, Managing Director of InfraStrata, said: “This validates our strategic vision to expand the group’s manufacturing footprint into strategically located regions close to major wind farm projects.

“This will allow us to distribute workflows across our facilities to reduce costs, meet tight schedules and, most importantly, align with the government’s goal of delivering wind power to every home in the Kingdom.” United by 2030.

It is estimated that the NnG offshore wind farm will provide enough low-carbon electricity to power around 375,000 homes and has a capacity of 450 megawatts of Lao carbon energy offsetting 400,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year.

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