JDR Cable Systems (JDR) reached final agreement under the UK government’s Offshore Wind Manufacturing Scheme (OWMIS) on financial support for its new subsea cable manufacturing facility in Cambois, near Blyth, Northumberland.
The agreement means JDR is on track to begin construction in summer 2022, with a planned opening in 2024. The $157m UK Export Finance (UKEF) Export Development Guarantee is set to create 171 high-quality local jobs on completion while safeguarding 270 jobs at JDR’s existing facilities.
JDR has also announced a $3.6m investment into its existing facility at Hartlepool, with the installation of a new vertical layup machine (VLM). The VLM is nearly double the weight capacity and increases production capacity at Hartlepool by approximately 25 per cent, readying the facility for manufacture of array cables above its current 66 kV product range, with the addition of 132kV and 150kV cabling planned at the facility.