Work is underway on SeAH Wind Ltd‘s new £400 million offshore wind facility on Teesside, set to become the largest of its kind anywhere in the world which will create 750 direct job and a further 1,500 indirect jobs in the supply chain during construction.

The company’s 1.13 million ft² facility will produce bases for offshore wind turbines and will be based at Redcar’s Teesworks, the UK’s biggest industrial zone. It is the first scheme driven by private sector investment to begin construction at any UK Freeport.

SeAH Wind is committed to supporting the local workforce and has previously held engagement events so businesses from across the region could learn how they can get involved as work on the factory ramps up.

When complete, the facility is expected to produce between 100 and 150 monopiles per year which will be transported directly from the factory to Teesworks’ under-construction South Bank Quay before heading to the North Sea for installation using specialised pile-driving equipment.

Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen welcomed Joosung Lee, president and CEO of SeAH Steel Holdings, and Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng to the Teesworks site to mark the occasion lask week.

Mr Houchen said: “Since 2017 we have had a challenging time to secure all of the land at Teesworks and have worked hard to get it remediated and investor-ready as quickly as possible. Now we have finally got to the good part!

“This is not only the first private sector project to get spades in the ground at Teesworks. It is not only the first at the Teesside Freeport. It is actually the first at any Freeport in the UK – once again proving our region is the place to do business in the safer, cleaner and healthier sectors of the future.

“The first building blocks are now in place to create hundreds of high-quality, well-paid jobs for people across Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool for generations to come. And those numbers will only grow as the other transformational projects we have got lined up mark us out as the driving force behind the UK’s low carbon ambitions.”

Mr Lee said: “SeAH Wind will be the first XXL monopile foundation fabrication facility in the UK. With this massive factory it will signal a successful revival of the manufacturing sector in Teesside, as well as setting a great example for the UK government’s initiative to support a green industrial revolution.”

Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng added: “It is fantastic to witness the ground-breaking for the UK’s first monopile factory which will see Teesside laying the foundations for the future of offshore wind in the UK. This plant can be a cornerstone of our new world-class manufacturing base, bringing even more jobs to the region, while helping to strengthen Britain’s energy security.

“We are incredibly proud to support this investment and I am grateful to Mayor Ben Houchen and SeAH for making this nationally-significant project a reality.”