Merseyside has rallied to become a key site for offshore energy schemes. Neil Hodgson reports

EARLY in 2009, the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) published a report on suitable UK ports to support the offshore wind industry, which came as a shock to the system, and served as a wake-up call for Merseyside.

For Liverpool was a glaring omission in a map that showed 20 ports around the UK coastline with potential to support the industry or provide manufacturing opportunities.

It showed first generation, round one, wind farms, including the 25-turbine Burbo Bank development, and round two opportunities such as the 160-turbine Gwynt y Môr site, off North Wales, and potential round three wind farm developments, such as a huge 1,000-turbine scheme between Liverpool and the Isle of Man which energy firm Centrica intends to build.

But the only North West ports deemed suitable to support such developments, according to the DECC document, were Barrow and Mostyn.

Fast forward to last week’s deal by Birkenhead shipyard Cammell Laird to provide port facilities for German-owned energy group RWE’s Gwynt y Môr wind farm, which is testimony to the enormous effort that inward investment agency The Mersey Partnership (TMP) and key industry players such as Cammell Laird and Mersey Ports owner Peel have invested to catapult the region into the forefront of offshore wind energy, to such an extent that it is now on the cusp of establishing itself as a “centre of excellence” for an entirely new generation of wind farm developments.

TMP low carbon economy manager Mark Knowles admitted: “When we saw the DECC document, we wondered, ‘How did that happen that we weren’t on the map.’

“You see some of the smaller ports and it was probably a case of, ‘it is this or nothing’.

“But Liverpool is a different beast and a much bigger port operation, and the journey we have been on since that map was published was to convince people like Peel and Cammell Laird that there is something there for them.”

However, TMP also had to convince the rest of the industry that the region had something to offer them and embarked on wooing key players in the energy and manufacturing sectors, as part of its strategy to argue the region’s case for investment.

Mark Basnett, TMP director of investment, said: “It was not so much lobbying, just about convincing industry and making them realise we have the assets here that we can meet the needs of the industry.”

Merseyside was fortunate that the wind farm energy industry’s annual conference was held at the city’s Echo Arena in both 2010 and this year.

Early in 2010, TMP commissioned an 80-page report in response to the DECC document, highlighting the region’s strengths, from port facilities, to manufacturing and technical expertise, as well as an abundance of business parks that could offer vital back-up or storage capacity. Mr Basnett said: “We felt from very early on that we had all of this, but the consultants had not seen that because it had not been put before them.”

The 2010 conference provided invaluable access to developers and manufacturers, and was deemed a success.

Mr Knowles said: “The industry was very responsive and their line was, ‘we can see how that would work in Liverpool’.”

Mr Basnett added: “The event has been here for two years.

“In 2010, we were pushing our stake, but by 2011 people were coming to us on the stand, and there was a real level of awareness of what the offer was.

“There was surprise in the industry that Liverpool had not been included on the DECC map.

“But the penny started to drop and it was pretty well road-tested with the industry who got it, and our dialogue has been more readily received by the industry.”

However, following the first conference, TMP realised it needed to broaden the potential appeal and involve more players. Mr Knowles said: “We had to turn that into something more tangible.”

Cammell Laird had been in prolonged talks with RWE over the Gwynt y Môr development, and so TMP collaborated with the Birkenhead business to raise awareness of the bottom line and jobs potential of offshore wind farms to the supply chain industry that would be required for such large-scale operations.

Mr Basnett said RWE’s existing suppliers would look at how they could integrate within the region, but there was still much more potential for local firms who could either tap into the market or diversify to exploit new opportunities.

He said: “Round three will need hundreds of acres of quayside sites. There’s few locations that can offer that, but business parks are part of our offer.”

Mr Knowles added: “The infrastructure exists here with both business parks and training facilities.”

He said Burbo Bank was such a small-scale development, by comparison, that it was not commercially viable to set up major manufacturing or supply operations on Merseyside, and most components were shipped in from Europe.

“However, round three (Centrica) is more than 1,000 turbines and is very different.”

Mr Basnett said: “We have reached a very important milestone here, but we are going to be very much keeping that collaborative push going so industry realises this is the start of our ambition.

“We could look at making all the components here, instead of barging them from Europe.

“The prizes for us is getting as much here as we possibly can. We are hoping this will send ripples around the industry that someone like RWE has committed to Liverpool.

“They have not done that lightly, because it is a very significant investment. The next step is working with the big players and their supply chains to roll out more.”

Mr Knowles said there are 140 supply chain businesses currently involved in the offshore wind farm industry, but he added: “A lot of local companies haven’t realised what is at stake here, yet.”

He said the region can benefit hugely from the lucrative supply chain and ongoing post-development maintenance opportunities that wind farms can present.

“The spectrum of businesses who can get involved in this sector range from people sitting behind computer screens to people in overalls.”

He highlighted, in particular, two hi-tech Merseyside firms in Birkenhead-based marine oceanography expert Osiris Projects and Enspec, in St Helens, which specialises in harmonics related to electrical cabling, which is essential to transmit energy ashore.

These companies and more traditional engineering and manufacturing firms are all capable of deriving huge rewards from Merseyside’s role as a support port for the industry, creating a second tier of opportunities from round three developments.

And TMP and its partners, such as its private sector members and the six Merseyside local authorities, are convinced that the region can offer the best incentives for future wind farm schemes, and beyond.

Mr Basnett said: “What we will do with suppliers is support them, find the right premises, or sort out planning and property and finance issues.

“There are a also opportunities for businesses who could diversify into this area.”