BELFAST BRIEFING: A £1.6 billion wind turbine assembly plant at Belfast harbour could create 300 jobs

HOT AIR is never in short supply in Northern Ireland. But could it, loosely speaking, be harnessed to generate a much warmer front for the North’s economy?

If the latest forecast from the Danish utility, Dong Energy, is anything to go by then perhaps Northern Ireland should get ready to shout about its green credentials to potential new investors.

Dong Energy has just confirmed it intends to finalise an agreement with Belfast Harbour which is set to deliver a multimillion-pound boost for the city.

Earlier this year, Belfast Harbour unveiled plans to fund and build a new £40 million “tailor-made installation harbour”. The plans were dependent on securing Dong Energy as the tenant for the 450m quay and 50-acre logistics space.

Last week the Danish organisation confirmed that, together with ScottishPower Renewables, it has decided to go ahead with the construction of a major offshore wind farm – the West of Duddon Sands – in the Irish Sea.

Construction is expected to cost about £1.6 billion (€1.8 billion)

Dong Energy intends to use the new facility as a pre-assemble base for the likes of turbines and foundations.

According to the harbour the project has the potential to create up to 300 full-time jobs and 150 construction jobs in Northern Ireland.

Len O’Hagan, Belfast Harbour’s chairman, believes the initiative has the potential to “kick-start Belfast’s aspirations to become a leading player in the new green economy”.

Just as Northern Ireland once had a reputation as the “shipbuilder to the world”, he said, it could create a new identify by growing a “21st century renewable cluster”.

O’Hagan is confident that Dong Energy’s decision to come to Belfast is just the beginning.

“In addition to turbine assembly operations, there may also be opportunities to attract turbine manufacturers to Northern Ireland, helping to lay the basis of a marine energy park that would create significant numbers of new high-value-added jobs and inward investment.”

He is not the only person who sees a real opportunity here. According to energy Minister Arlene Foster, up to 11,000 new offshore wind turbines will be built in British and Irish territorial waters over the next 20 years.

With almost a quarter of the planned turbines expected to be located within 150 nautical miles of Belfast, Foster said the harbour is well placed to become a “major offshore logistics centre”.

The UK’s Crown Estate, which owns most of the North’s coastline, has confirmed growing market interest in projects off the coast. It has been in discussions with businesses interested in developing offshore wind and tidal energy and is currently exploring how development rights should be awarded to interested parties.

One well-known company has already chartered a successful course to establishing a reputation in renewable energy.

Harland Wolff has won a number of substantial contracts to design and build offshore substations and platforms.

It is currently involved in delivering two substation platforms for the Gwynt y Môr offshore wind farm off the north Wales coast which will be completed by next June.

Danny Moore, principal of locally-based “super-angel fund” Lough Shore Investments, said the North should chase every opportunity when it comes to the renewables sector. He believes the “right people, the right technology and the right companies” exist to allow the North really make a name for itself in this sector.

Lough Shore Investments’ first “significant strategic investment” was in local wind energy firm Simple Power because he said it “ticked all the boxes”.

Simple Power claims to offer a “new approach” to small-scale onshore renewable energy generation. Adopting a “single turbine approach” gives landowners the opportunity to generate wind energy, it said.

Moore said there is a real hunger among investors for this type of project. “Just look at the renewables sector worldwide and then what’s happening in Northern Ireland; there is a lot of potential here, we just need to get investment into the right companies at the right time.”