Utility Week

Interview comes from other areas. The town is also recognised as the main centre of the UK's sh processing industry, as well as having a strong chemicals and process sector. Yet Grimsby's economic challenges are far from over. However, the seaport's fortuitous location on the south bank of the Humber estuary has once more thrown its residents a welcome lifeline. Blessed with the increasingly valuable resource of pervasive wind power on its doorstep, the area is now home to a growing cluster of o• shore wind farms in the deep waters of its historic commercial ally, the North Sea. Just 75 miles o• its coast lies the mammoth 174- turbine Hornsea One from Danish generation giant Ørsted, the largest wind farm operator in the world. Hornsea One rst generated power last February and will be fully operational later this year. Twice as big as the world's previous largest o• shore wind farm – Ørsted's Walney Extension project near Barrow-in-Fur- ness – at 1.2GW, it is the rst to o• er more than 1GW of capacity and is also the furthest from shore. The 50:50 joint venture between Ørsted (formerly Dong Energy) and Global Infrastructure Partners, forms part of a wider £6 billion investment to create a hub for the UK's renewable energy sector. Ørsted is also the owner of future o• shore developments, Hornsea Two, currently in construction, and Hornsea Three, o• ering a potential capacity of a further 3GW. With a lifespan of around 25 years, Hornsea One will provide green power to in excess of one million homes every year. It is also expected to generate thousands of jobs in a region where skilled employment opportunities are in demand from the onshore community and its sup- ply chain. As a result, the company – whose vision is "to create a world that runs entirely on green energy" – nds its projects perfectly aligned with today's dual political narrative around decarbonisation and a levelling-up of UK economic growth, particularly in the North. The local opportunity Emma Toulson has grown up with Grimsby's energy journey. Ørsted's lead stakeholder adviser in the UK was born in the northeast Lincolnshire area, where her father worked in the oil and gas industry at the Port of Immingham. It's both a family, and regional, irony that is di¡ cult to miss. The Humber "energy estuary", long known as a base for the fossil fuel sector that ¢ anks the river (including two of the UK's six main oil re neries), is now becoming synonymous with the rise of renewables. Toulson's remit has a strong North of England focus, working as she does with external stakeholders within those regions where Ørsted is particularly active. As well as its activities on the east coast, there are its northwest Burbo Bank projects at Liverpool Bay, and the Wal- ney and West of Duddon Sands projects o• Barrow-in- Furness in Cumbria – as well as a host of other arrays around the country (see graphic, p12). She says her previous roles in engineering and with local enterprise partnerships have equipped her well for a job she describes as "being on many levels". Impor- tantly, this includes being able to liaise sensitively with those stakeholders a• ected by the company's projects, as well as highlighting the vast economic bene ts avail- able to the local economies they touch. "Economic development is in my veins now. And there's usually a number of strands to it, which re¢ ect aspects within the industrial strategy," Toulson says. "So, it's usually around the employment and skills base, the business base and supply chain, infrastructure, and also innovation. If initiatives are delivered around those four themes, then this will maximise the economic ben- e ts recognised in the place. "We have spent a lot of time and e• ort to make sure we are part of the communities that we operate in. Because, for instance, once a turbine has been installed, it needs to be looked a¥ er for approximately 25 years. So, by its very nature, the opportunities are long term, highly valuable and sustainable within the community. "It's very important that we're not just on the end of the dock, that we are part of the fabric of the community. That's the way that the place will sustainably grow and feel the bene ts of this industry." As history has shown, being close to critical infra- structure – such as canals, railways, road networks and, in this case, wind farms – can be an economic life- changer for a region. "Somewhere like Grimsby is fantastic," says Toulson, "because it is quite close to where the wind farms are. Then you have a lot of other factors that make Grimsby a great place for our base – the fact there is pre-existing port infrastruc- ture that we were able to adapt for our needs. And on the north side of the river in Hull, there's been a very large Siemens blade and instal- lation port there. You have those synergies across the estuary." It all cre- ates valuable economies of scale and other economic factors, such as workforce skills, that go hand in hand. "We have been able to recruit the skills that "It's very important that we're not just on the end of the dock, that we are part of the fabric of the commu- nity. And that's the way that the place will sustainably grow and feel the benefi ts of this industry." continued from previous page Grimsby's East Coast Hub (ECH) • There are four o shore wind farms directly managed from the ECH – Westermost Rough, Lincs, Race Bank and Gunfleet Sands, located in the South East. • Hornsea One and Hornsea Two will o• cially join the East Coast portfolio as the world's largest wind farms this year and in 2022. • The brand-new East Coast Hub, the largest operations and maintenance (O&M) base of its kind, has a total workforce of more than 360 (including 165 Ørsted employees and 150 long-term O&M contractors). • More than 83% of Ørsted's ECH workforce live within an hour's drive of the site. Toulson's remit has a strong North of England focus, working as she does with external stakeholders within those regions where Ørsted is particularly active. As well as its activities on the east coast, there are its northwest Burbo Bank projects at Liverpool Bay, and the Wal- ney and West of Duddon Sands projects o• Barrow-in- Furness in Cumbria – as well as a host of other arrays around the country (see graphic, p12). She says her previous roles in engineering and with local enterprise partnerships have equipped her well for a job she describes as "being on many levels". Impor- tantly, this includes being able to liaise sensitively with those stakeholders a• ected by the company's projects, as well as highlighting the vast economic bene ts avail- able to the local economies they touch. "Economic development is in my veins now. And there's usually a number of strands to it, which re¢ ect aspects within the industrial strategy," Toulson says. "So, it's usually around the employment and skills base, the business base and supply chain, infrastructure, and also innovation. If initiatives are delivered around those four themes, then this will maximise the economic ben- e ts recognised in the place. "We have spent a lot of time and e• ort to make sure we are part of the communities that we operate in. Because, for instance, once a turbine has been installed, it needs to be looked a¥ er for approximately 25 years. So, by its very nature, the opportunities are long term, highly valuable and sustainable within the "It's very important that we're not just on the end of the dock, that we are part of the fabric of the community. That's the way that the place will sustainably grow and feel the bene ts of this industry." As history has shown, being close to critical infra- structure – such as canals, railways, road networks and, in this case, wind farms – can be an economic life- changer for a region. "Somewhere like Grimsby is fantastic," says Toulson, "because it is quite close to where the wind farms are. Then you have a lot of other factors that make Grimsby a great place for our base – the fact there is pre-existing port infrastruc- ture that we were able to adapt for our needs. And on the north side of the river in Hull, there's been a very large Siemens blade and instal- lation port there. You have across the It all cre- ates valuable economies of scale and other economic factors, such as workforce skills, that go hand in "We have been able to recruit the skills that 10 | 21ST - 27TH FEBRUARY 2020 | UTILITY WEEK Regional Growth & Utilities

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