Design contract awarded for ABP energy facility

The vision for LEEF is to provide a facility that is suitable for operations and maintenance (O&M) activities and construction support for the offshore energy industry, creating the East of England’s premier offshore energy hub.

“The winning design for LEEF will enable us to deliver this hugely exciting project and create a competitive edge for companies across the Southern North Sea (SNS) energy sector,” said Andrew Harston, ABP director for Wales and Short Sea Port.

“Having recently won ‘Best Project’ in the regional Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) Awards for Planning Excellence 2022, LEEF has the potential to attract many supply chain companies to Lowestoft, bringing new jobs and prosperity to the area.”

Next phase

As part of the next phase of the project, ABP will invest around GB£1m in the detailed design of infrastructural upgrades of the site, including the addition of extra capacity to accommodate the next generation of larger offshore support vessels.

The design phase is anticipated to last around six months with the construction following over the next 12 months and potential for vessels to begin using the facility from 2024.

LEEF forms part of the Port Gateway project which is 1 of 5 projects that will benefit from Lowestoft’s towns deal awarded in 2020 by the Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities as a result of a successful Investment Plan submitted by East Suffolk Council.

The Port of Lowestoft has a long history of servicing the offshore energy sector, as a home to O&M bases for Scottish Power Renewables and Scottish & Southern Energy (SSE). It also benefits from its strategic location and close proximity to Orbis Energy and PowerPark, where key offshore energy developers, operators and service providers are located.

“McLaughlin & Harvey is delighted to have been awarded the design contract for ABP’s Lowestoft Eastern Energy Facility,” said Seamus Devlin, civil engineering director, McLaughlin & Harvey.

”We bring experience from our ever-expanding expertise in civils and marine works, and look forward to commencing the design of this exciting project in the near future.”