Chinese giant blows into Scotland
The new venture will address the market for turbine jacket substructures, towers and access systems for offshore wind farms in Europe, currently being met by manufacturers in Germany and Denmark. Photo by Peter Barker.
SeaEnergy PLC say that its 80% subsidiary SeaEnergy Renewables Ltd (SERL) and Chinese company Nantong COSCO Ship Steel Structure Co. Ltd (NCSC) have signed a Strategic Cooperation Agreement (SCA).
This SCA is to develop and market steel structures for the offshore wind industry.
This marks the first significant agreement in offshore wind between a Scottish company and a major state owned Chinese enterprise. The COSCO Group is one of the major multinational enterprises in the world. It is China’s largest company and the world’s leading group specializing in global shipping, modern logistics and ship building and repairing.
The SCA is expected to lead to a definitive agreement to develop and market turbine jacket substructures, towers and access systems for offshore wind farms. The companies will now work together over the coming months to develop a detailed business plan and commercial framework which will form the basis of their ongoing relationship.
The agreement was signed in Shanghai in the presence of Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond and representatives of the British and Chinese governments. The relationship between the two companies developed following an initial meeting at the China WindPower conference in 2009.
However, according to a company spokesman, this does not affect SeaEnergy's sale of SERL, reported by MJ recently.
SERL’s CEO Joel Staadecker said, ‘We are delighted to be working with one of China’s premier state owned enterprises and directing our efforts at the critical supply chain need for offshore structures. The combination of our proven skills in delivering offshore infrastructure and turbines in deeper water and NCSC’s expertise in design and manufacture of steel structures for marine applications provides the ideal platform to serve the growing global offshore wind industry as it moves into deeper waters.’
Wang Zhihua, general manager of NCSC added, ‘The signing of this strategic cooperation agreement with SeaEnergy Renewables is an important milestone in NCSC’s expansion into the European market. Partnership with SeaEnergy will combine NCSC’s fabrication infrastructure with SeaEnergy’s outstanding expertise in the offshore environment. Together, both companies will be excellently positioned to move forward in this industry.’
Both companies believe that combining their expertise and resources will allow them to benefit jointly from the opportunities in the offshore wind industry as it develops across the world. NCSC is a member of the state owned COSCO Group which specialises in designing and manufacturing heavy steel structures. SERL is an independent offshore wind energy developer, and comprises the team which conceived, developed and delivered the world’s first deep water wind farm development, the Beatrice wind farm off the coast of Scotland.
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