Lincolnshire Firms Secure Triton Knoll Contracts

J. Murphy & Sons has appointed three Lincolnshire-based contractors to work on innogy’s 860MW Triton Knoll offshore wind farm.

The contracts were awarded following a recent local supplier day at Boston College and a drive to engage with nearby suppliers, Murphy said.

The Murphy team is responsible for design and cable work for the wind farm, and where the site team is laying 60km of underground cable to carry out what’s believed to be the largest number of horizontal directional drills ever undertaken on a single UK infrastructure project.

Lincolnshire Drainage Ltd, whose representatives attended the Boston College ‘Local Supplier Day’ run by Lincolnshire Growth Hub, has been brought on board to provide drainage system design.

Scarborough Nixon Associates Ltd and TM Links will also be working for Murphy providing ecologists and traffic management over a two year period.

Triton Knoll project director Julian Garnsey said: “We were determined from the outset of this project, that local companies would have visibility of our contracts and the opportunity to bid for them. We firmly believe that local firms can be successful and in this way, we hope to play a role in the retention of local jobs and skills and to see investment flowing into nearby communities.”

More supply chain events are planned for the coming months as the project progresses into both onshore and offshore construction, Murphy said.

Murphy senior subcontract buyer Lukasz Olszewski said: “It is fantastic we have been able to engage with local suppliers and we’ve been able to bring people from the area on board. This also means these companies will be approved suppliers for Murphy and so have more opportunities on future projects. We will keep speaking with local suppliers about potential work wherever possible in Lincolnshire.”

The Triton Knoll wind farm will comprise 90 MHI Vestas V164-9.5MW turbines installed some 32km off the Lincolnshire coast and 50km off the coast of North Norfolk.

Onshore construction is due to start this summer, with offshore works beginning in late 2019. First energy generation could be as early as 2021, with the project expected to begin commissioning in the same year.