The value of contracts placed with local businesses by Vattenfall and ScottishPower Renewables – the partners in East Anglia Offshore Wind Limited (EAOW) – has topped £15m (€18m). Contract awards vary from accommodation and catering to multi-million pound marine services, research and consulting. They have been awarded to businesses across the region – in Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex and Cambridgeshire.
Since 2010, 28 firms in the region have benefited. By November 2012, contracts awarded in East Anglia were worth £6.65m and the new total represents additional investment of more than £8m over the past five months. Andy Paine, East Anglia programme director, said EAOW was "already good news for the East Anglian economy", with the prospects set to improve further.
The East Anglia zone's first project – the 1.2GW East Anglia ONE development – entered the planning system in December 2012. It is hoped it will receive consent in 2014. If approved and built, it could deliver £500m to the region’s economy and 1,600 construction jobs in East Anglia alone. Onshore construction could begin as early as 2016, with offshore construction commencing the following year. The zone as a whole could eventually host over 7GW of offshore wind capacity.
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