7/3/2022 - Last year, JDR announced plans to build a new high-voltage U.K. cable plant subject to final agreements. That path just got a lot closer to completion when the project was approved by councilors on the Strategic Planning Committee of the Northumberland County Council (NCC).

A press release said that NCC Deputy Council Leader Richard Wearmouth reported that the project has its full support. “We’re absolutely delighted to be welcoming one of the most advanced subsea cable manufacturing facilities in the world into the county. This brand-new facility will focus on renewable energy products and services, which is crucial towards the county’s carbon neutral plans.”

Plans call for construction to begin this year, with the opening set for 2024. It will create up to 207 high-quality local jobs on completion and safeguard 270 jobs at JDR’s existing facilities. Part of the initial project investment, estimated at £130 million, will come from a grant from the BEIS Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Support (OWMIS) scheme. JDR and TFK plans to raise the remaining funding with support expected from financial institutions and U.K. Export Finance.

The new facility is the first stage of JDR’s plans to expand its product portfolio to support the growing global renewable energy market, adding high-voltage export and long length array cables to its existing capacity and product capabilities. Further stages of the development could result in over 400 staff working at the site, with supplied products complementing JDR’s existing capacity provided by the company’s Hartlepool and Littleport U.K. manufacturing centers.

When complete, the facility will include a new catenary continuous vulcanization (CCV) line, making it the only facility in the U.K. capable of full start-to-finish manufacturing of high voltage subsea cables for offshore wind farms to support the growing global renewable energy market. It will be located on the 16-hectare site of the former coal-fired Blyth power station in Cambois in the northeast of England. It is set to feature a 47.5-m high vertical laying-up machine tower and a 45-m high CVC tower along with cable testing and storage facilities. Construction is due to start in the third quarter of this year and finish in early 2024.