CS Wind UK agrees supply opportunities on Vattenfall projects

Wind turbine tower manufacturer CS Wind UK is signing today a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Vattenfall that will open up supply opportunities related to the Swedish utility's wind development pipeline in the UK.

The deal comes as CS Wind UK is set to start work on a GBP-27-million (USD 34.9m/EUR 31.5m) upgrade project at its factory at Campbeltown, Scotland. The investment will increase the production volume for onshore wind and enable the production of towers for the offshore wind industry. It follows the acquisition earlier in 2016 of Wind Towers (Scotland) by South Korea's CS Wind Corp (KRX:112610).

Under the MoU, CS Wind UK will have the opportunity to tender for tower supply contracts on future Vattenfall onshore wind projects. The Swedish state-owned company has also agreed to discuss additional opportunities associated with its UK offshore wind projects.

"It is encouraging that developers like Vattenfall who are looking to develop projects in the UK are using UK suppliers where possible for large components, securing jobs and a long-term future for local economies," said Lesley Black, head of UK sales for CS Wind.

Vattenfall is developing a number of onshore wind farms in the UK, as well as the 11-turbine European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC) off Aberdeen Bay. It is also due to begin the planning process on its 1.8-GW Norfolk Vanguard offshore wind project.

Energy minister Andrea Leadsom said: "We are building a strong, competitive UK supply chain to support our world leading offshore wind industry. Businesses now have greater certainty than ever before thanks to government’s £730m of support for renewables."

"CS Wind is a great example of how this newfound certainty can drive local jobs and growth through the UK supply chain."

In the 2016 Budget in March, it was announced that the UK government intends to auction up to GBP 730 million of contracts for difference (CfDs) to support up to 4 GW of offshore wind and other less established renewables in the current parliament.

(GBP 1.0 = USD 1.291/EUR 1.168)

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