RWE, the developer of Five Estuaries Offshore Wind Farm, is invested in supporting the development of the regions it operates in. This includes helping to develop the supply chain, building a strong local workforce and supporting local communities.
RWE and the Five Estuaries Project will be exploring supply chain, skills and employment activities and would like to build on our legacy of working with local communities as we develop the project and, if consent is granted, as we move towards construction.
This is a new project and we welcome your views and the opportunity to consider new and different ways in which we might be able to work with and support the local area.
The construction and long-term operations and maintenance of the wind farm is bringing significant employment and investment benefits to Tendring, the wider Essex area and along the East Coast as well as elsewhere in the UK and we expect Five Estuaries to do the same.
Jobs are created during the entire life cycle of an offshore wind farm, from its development and design, through to construction and longer-term operation. Operation and Maintenance jobs are often highly valued, with the potential to be long-term and in the project’s locality.
RWE recognises the importance of a future skilled workforce to support the growth of offshore wind. As part of our activities in the region, we intend to work with local education, business and community institutions, to engage people of all ages and at all levels about the opportunities within offshore wind and provide details about the range of job opportunities that would be created by the Project.
This will include:
Five Estuaries sister project, Galloper Offshore Wind Farm (operational since 2017), created over 700 jobs during construction. Since becoming operational, 60 long-term, skilled roles are supported by the wind farm. This includes supporting career transition from industries such as steel works and property facilities management backgrounds, and the British Military with four members of the offshore team coming from British Army, Royal Navy and Royal Air Force.
RWE also champions skills development through its UK-wide training hub through a valuable partnership with Llandrillo College in North Wales. To date, over 40 wind turbine apprentices have been trained at the College, some of these apprentices are working on the Galloper O&M base located in Harwich.
The Galloper team works closely with local authorities, not-for-profit organisations, education and industry groups to deliver a tailored programme of education and skills activity along the East Coast. This includes shadowing days at Galloper O&M, holding mock interviews for students at Clacton High School, and engagement with the East Coast Energy Internship Scheme and many Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) events.
The wind farm also has four STEM ambassadors who work closely with local schools and supports five apprentices who all live locally to the O&M base.
Find out more about apprenticeships and careers within RWE here.
RWE aims to be one of the most cost-competitive offshore wind developers globally, seeking best value in all aspects of delivery. The UK supply chain has an integral role to play in shaping the future of our offshore wind industry both here and abroad as we seek to share our expertise.
We know our UK offshore wind farms can act as a catalyst for the UK supply chain. Skills, economic growth and the development, construction and maintenance of our offshore wind farms represent important opportunities for the supply chain across the entire project lifecycle.
We’re already working hard to make sure those opportunities are visible to the UK supply chain, working closely with Local Enterprise Partnerships, industry bodies, membership organisations and local authorities. We also work closely with establishments including schools, colleges, Universities, STEM providers and Job Centre Plus.
Five Estuaries is keen to engage with local suppliers and understand the products and services local businesses can provide to the Project. To facilitate this we will provide various opportunities to engage with Five Estuaries and be kept updated on the development of the Project. We are committed to developing supply chains and encouraging new entrants to the market through the use of a Five Estuaries Online Supplier Directory and Meet the Buyer events.
Investing £1.5 billion into construction of the project, our sister project Galloper Offshore Wind Farm worked with over 20 local providers who have provided goods and services to tier 1 suppliers.
Register your interest in opportunities to work with RWE across all projects and technologies by registering on the RWE supply chain portal.
RWE has a long history of supporting the communities in which it operates. As the Five Estuaries project progresses, we will work with communities to develop our approach to supporting the local area. At this stage, the details of any community benefit package associated with Five Estuaries have not been finalised. We plan to engage local people and groups to help shape how the project can best support the community.
As an example, Galloper Offshore Wind Farm provides three community fund packages to the local community including £187,000 over 17 years through the Galloper Wind Farm Fund to contribute to the appearance, setting, conservation, amenity, accessibility and enjoyment of the Suffolk Coast & Heaths AONB. The Galloper Sponsorship Fund has given away approximately £60,000 to date to local community projects and organisations, and a fund managed by Essex Community Foundation which since 2018 has awarded 29 grants totalling over £54,000 which promote charitable, community, educational or environmental initiatives.
