The first flight of a CHC AW139 left Humberside Airport at 11:15 a.m. on Jan. 24 for the initial phase of Ørsted’s Hornsea Project One offshore wind farm.
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 75 miles (120 kilometers) off the coast of Yorkshire, U.K., 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.
“I am delighted to see our service get underway,” said Mark Abbey, CHC’s regional director for Europe, Middle East and Africa. “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.”
“This is the first ever wind farm in the world to be built at this scale, and it’s bringing great benefits to the U.K. and the Humber region,” said Duncan Clark, Hornsea Project One program director.
“We’re thrilled to see U.K. companies being able to offer their services as we take huge strides in expanding the offshore wind sector here in the U.K. 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.”
