New CGIs showing SeAH Wind Ltd's forthcoming Teesworks factory have been revealed as plans for the scheme are submitted.
The South Korean firm's facility - which will employ 750 people once completed - will be 40 metres tall and sit on a 90-acre site adjacent to Teesworks' South Bank Quay, which received £107m of funding from the UK Infrastructure Bank to ready it for development.
At 1.13m sq ft, the factory will be four times the size of Middlesbrough's Riverside Stadium and as high as 10 double-decker buses, making it the largest facility of its type in the world.
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The factory is expected to be operational by 2026 and will make monopiles - the large steel tubes that form the foundations of the construction of offshore wind turbines.
SeAH Wind is holding an event on April 20 at Sedgefield's Hardwick Hall to meet local supply chain companies interested in tendering for work on the scheme, led by construction consultants K2 Consultancy
Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “2022 is our year of construction and we are rebuilding a new skyline for Teesside – one that looks to the future and is creating hundreds of well-paid jobs in the cleaner, healthier and safer industries of tomorrow.
“It’s fantastic to see that both SeAH Wind and its construction consultants, K2 Consultancy, are committed to employing local workers and using the region’s talent and suppliers to deliver the facility. These aren’t just fancy pictures, they’ll start to be a reality, with spades in the ground coming in just a few short months.
“This latest move once again proves this scheme, along with other innovative projects taking place at Teesworks, are not pie-in-the-sky proposals. They are very real developments going ahead right now and delivering for local people.”
President and CEO of SeAHSteel Holdings, Joosung Lee said: “After acknowledging a solid and stronger business relationship, SeAH Wind and Teesworks have decided to set out a long journey together.
"I am sure that the remaining work will go smoothly with the support of TVCA and our local partners. Bringing the UK’s first monopile manufacturing facility is a very meaningful and significant project to the UK offshore wind industry. We will make every effort to produce visible outcomes in every stage of the development.”
Coun Mary Lanigan, leader of Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, said: “This is yet another example of positive progress being made in our area; in terms of both the creation of jobs, and the future of industry in the North East. 1,500 supply chain jobs and 750 positions upon completion of the project is a significant number and we are proud to be becoming a leading area for clean, renewable energy.”
