East Wind raises awareness of offshore wind in region

The East of England has pioneered offshore wind energy for two decades. Offshore wind off the East of England coast is set to produce 15.6GW by 2035. Its regional workforce is forecast to reach up to 7,600 by 2030 from the current 2,400, according to research by Norfolk-based leading analysts, Opergy.

New wind projects will stimulate more than £15bn of new investment in the region, with wind projects developed before 2030 generating enough energy to power 11 million homes.

The figures speak for themselves. Offshore wind’s prominence, heritage and expertise is growing in the region, and must attract people of all ages to join today, and for decades to come, on the journey to decarbonisation.

Denise Hone, East Wind cluster vice-chair (Image: Vattenfall)

The stakes are high, says East Wind cluster vice-chair Denise Hone. The region deserves a confident cluster to build momentum in a hub that welcomes the open exchange of ideas.

“The cluster is a mechanism for industry and communities to work together,” says Denise. “It’s vital that we communicate this vibrant sector that is on the doorsteps of local people. Offshore wind brings huge opportunities for the region.

“Rising demands for skilled personnel to deliver on the sector’s ambitious targets is being driven by local education providers such as East Coast College and The University of East Anglia.

“The development of long-term, highly-specialised roles essential to the green revolution started in the East of England and is being perfected here as the region continues to set the trend for renewable energy.”

East Wind’s mission is to bring everything together – from developers, operators, Tier One companies, ports and ORE Catapult, to supply chain skills providers, local authorities and the LEP (New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership) – to broadcast, in a single strong voice, East Wind’s defined message and purpose, building on the region’s incredible foundations and achievements.

Behind the voice lies real action borne of commitment to ‘do different’ and make a difference to businesses’ bottom lines, while engaging with the industry’s future workforce, Denise says.

The idea behind the East Wind cluster is to build momentum in a hub that welcomes the open exchange of ideas (Image: East Wind/CHPV/Vattenfall)

More than 180 members have joined the cluster, which is a free membership organisation so far. East Wind’s mission is to inspire all businesses across the region to take advantage of the opportunities the sector offers and is working with business membership organisations such as the Norfolk Chambers of Commerce to reach untapped areas of the supply chain.

Companies that might not realise they have a part to play in the sector, and know little about the sector’s needs because the possibility has never been on their horizon, might have solutions to those sector issues, Denise says.

“Communicating with these businesses and spreading our net wider could ultimately bring benefits naturally to the fore, like fresh innovations, simpler solutions, new partnerships and business streams.

“As a cohesive cluster, we believe we can work through any challenges together, positively. Developers and operators are bringing benefits and advantages to the region. We are driving collaboration between businesses and developers, Tier Ones, LEPs, EEEGR (the East of England Energy Group) and Norfolk Chambers of Commerce to advance the cluster and lead to widespread benefits from the industry.”

To spread the word about the scale of career opportunities in the industry, East Wind exhibited for the first time as a cluster at the Norfolk Careers Festival in Norwich in early March, where up to 7,000 students engaged with individual members at the new-for-2023 Offshore Wind Zone.

“Within the industry we talk about the 140 or so job roles it takes to build and run an offshore wind farm,” says Denise.

Rachel Bunn, skills lead for East Wind and director of commercial projects and community STEM lead at East Coast College, says: “Offshore wind is such a strong investor and jobs creator locally. It made sense to create an Offshore Wind Zone at the region’s biggest careers event so young people can discover the huge range of careers and opportunities.

“It is vital we continue to link local individuals into the sector. At our last cluster forum, we were able to introduce an A level student who wanted to find out more about offshore wind to one of our supply chain members. Within two weeks that student was completing a week with that company. That is life changing.

“Clean energy is injecting huge investment into the East of England. By showing young people and children what the industry is, the future development off their coastline, the diverse range of job roles involved, connecting them to the STEM agenda and reaching children at all ages through schools and families at community events, we are helping individuals’ futures as well as the economic development of our region.”

Lexi Brackpool, East Wind communications lead and managing director at Furthermore Marketing, says: “We all have work to do to grow East Wind. As members, we all own it. Its essence is collaboration and working together for the benefit of our own businesses and organisations and the region, for us all to get the value out of the industry we are all working so hard for.

“Telling our incredible story as a collective is so much more powerful. We have a habit of getting on with the job and hiding our light under a bushel. We can’t afford to do this.”

Members identified three work streams at early workshops. Specialist task groups are now working on skills, innovation and communications, and outreach.

“Offshore wind is developing at a rapid pace. It’s hard to find time to draw breath, but we have to get this right for the future and the only way is together,” says Lexi.

To find out more about East Wind and how to get involved visit ewoc.co.uk