CHC’s first flight for the initial phase of Ørsted’s Hornsea Project One offshore wind farm left Humberside Airport at 11.15am this morning.
Hornsea Project One will be the biggest wind farm in the world, capable of supplying clean electricity to over one million homes. It will be built 120km off the coast of Yorkshire, UK, and helicopters will be used to transport workers and equipment both during the construction and operational phases.
CHC is a leading provider in the oil and gas industry. Working with Uni-Fly, CHC will deliver the six -year deal covering the construction phase as well as the first five years of operations and maintenance of the wind farm.
This includes a transfer service to take people from shore to the wind farm, and also smaller helicopters to transfer people and tools between the turbines and substations.
A combination of Leonardo AW139 and AW169 helicopters will begin flying out of Humberside heliport from April 2018 to support the construction and support phases of the project. Both the services and operations for this contract will be based from Humberside, contributing to the expansion and development of the service base and surrounding area.
CHC’s Regional Director for Europe, Middle East and Africa, Mark Abbey said: “I am delighted to see our service get underway. It is a privilege to be part of this landmark project.
“We continue to invest in our Humberside facilities, our equipment and training to take on unique projects just like this one and are eager to show how our business and technical skills can support this mission. This also helps drive CHC’s long-term strategy to broaden our range of services to the energy market and continue to grow our renewables service alongside our oil and gas, and Search and Rescue service.”
Duncan Clark, Hornsea Project One Programme Director, said: “This is the first ever wind farm in the world to be built at this scale, and it’s bringing great benefits to the UK and the Humber region.
“We’re thrilled to see UK companies being able to offer their services as we take huge strides in expanding the offshore wind sector here in the UK. It’s also great to see companies like CHC adapt their expertise from existing sectors to be part of the growing renewables industry, pioneering new working practices further offshore. ”
“The Humber region is also benefitting greatly; we’re investing millions in building the largest ever offshore wind operations and maintenance hub here, bringing skilled jobs to the area and engaging with young people to inspire them into STEM subjects.”
About CHC
For 70 years, CHC Helicopter has provided safe, reliable, cost-effective helicopter service in some of the most remote and challenging environments around the world. With extensive experience transporting customers in the oil and gas industry, supporting search-and-rescue and EMS contracts, and providing maintenance, repair and overhaul services, our dedication to safety and reputation for quality and innovation help our customers reach beyond what they thought possible. Visit www.chcheli.com for information.
About Ørsted
Ørsted is a renewable energy company that takes tangible action to create a world that runs entirely on green energy. Ørsted develops, constructs and operates offshore wind farms across Europe, Asia and the US, develops and operates bioenergy plants, innovative waste-to-energy solutions and provides smart energy products to its power distribution and energy customers. Headquartered in Denmark, Ørsted employs 5,800 people worldwide, including over 900 in the UK. Ørsted’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen [Orsted]. In 2016, the company’s revenue was DKK 61 bn (EUR 8.2 bn.) For further information, see orsted.co.uk or follow us @OrstedUK on Twitter.
MEDIA/MORE INFORMATION
Sue Fay, CHC Heli
Director, Communications - EMEA
+44 (0)7796444762
Sue.Fay@chcheli.com
Juliette Sanders, Ørsted
UK Media Relations Manager
+44 (0) 7876 866 284
Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements
This press release and other statements that we may make contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and include statements about our future financial condition and future business plans and expectations. Such forward-looking statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of our management, but are subject to risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results and/or the timing of events to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual outcomes may vary materially from those indicated.
Notes:
UNI-FLY A/S was founded in Denmark in 1970, and has been operating helicopters for 47 years.
During the years the company has conducted a wealth of different helicopter operations. The starting point was crop dusting and later on also power- and pipe-line inspections. Throughout many years operations also included geological surveys and shipborne ice reconnaissance contracts in Greenland.
In 2002 UNI-FLY A/S spearheaded the development of utilizing helicopter hoist for wind farm support, being the first operator to obtain approval for doing the transfer of passengers using helicopter hoist.
The initial development was done in close collaboration with Danish Civil Aviation Authority, laying down what became the framework for the industry. UNI-FLY A/S have conducted more than 50,000 hoist operations to offshore wind turbines and offshore installations.
UNI-FLY will act as subcontractors to CHC for this project.
Visit www.uni-fly.dk for more information.
Hornsea Project One will be the largest offshore wind farm in the world. Once completed, it will produce enough energy to power over one million homes. With a capacity of 1.2 gigawatts (GW), Hornsea Project One will be the world's first offshore wind farm to exceed 1 GW in capacity.
Located off the Yorkshire coast, Hornsea Project One will span an area of approximately 407 square kilometres, which is over five times the size of the city of Hull. The offshore wind farm will use 7 megawatt (MW) wind turbines, with each one 190 metres tall – larger than the Gherkin building in London.
Hornsea Project Two was granted consent by the Secretary of State for Energy on the 16th August 2016 and in 2017 won a Contract for Difference at the lowest ever price for UK offshore wind. When complete, it will surpass Hornsea Project One as the world’s biggest wind farm, and be able to meet the electricity needs of up to 1.6 million homes per year, plus the opportunity for economic growth in the Humber region.