The project

About the project

JDR aims to invest in new cable technologies to be produced. Higher voltage cables are part of the long-term road map and these products will be manufactured at the Cambois facility.

JDR in Cambois will be installing a Continuous Catenary Vulcanisation (CCV) line. This CCV line will extrude the high-performance polymeric insulation system onto large copper or aluminum conductor strand cores. The CCV line will be the only quayside located High-Voltage CCV line operational in the UK, this will enable JDR to manufacture from raw materials to finished tested cables. The combined insulated core and cable assembly facility will enable the production of longer-length cable which will support the larger offshore wind turbines of the future.

The development will bring the regeneration of the derelict Brownfield site and is the first Tyneside location to bring forward this type of production facility for offshore cabling.

About the new facility

This new production facility is therefore an exemplar of what businesses will need to do to deliver the energy system shift needed for governments and society to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. In expanding their capacity at Cambois, JDR and TFKable will more than treble their current production output and this is needed to underpin the rapidly growing offshore renewable energy sector. As with other European coastal nations, the UK Government has set extremely ambitious targets to increase offshore wind, from 11.3 GW of commissioned and operational offshore wind capacity in 2021 to 50 GW by 2030 (with an ambition of 50GW). JDR’s new cable manufacturing capacity will be a vital enabler to achieving this shared ambition and securing the connection of wind power offshore and back to shore via the cables the companies plan to make in the UK and in the wider production facilities in Poland.

Project
timeline

Construction to begin Q4 2022, Completion of Construction Q2 2024

Construction to begin Autumn 2022, with facility operations commencing in 2024.
Total private investment of £130m assisted by the UK government’s Offshore Wind Manufacturing Investment Support (OWMIS) scheme.

Location: Cambois – near Blyth, Northumberland.
Enabling the connection of more offshore renewable energy to the grid.

Helping the UK to de-carbonise their energy supply and achieve net-zero.
Increasing UK manufacturing for domestic and global energy infrastructure projects.

First UK facility to fully produce high-voltage cables at a quayside location, helping to secure our energy supply.

A build comprising green credentials and certifications for sustainable construction.
A production facility committed to supporting net-zero.

Local employment opportunities.
Support to local schools and colleges to promote and encourage STEM opportunities.
Supporting local programmes and initiatives that benefit the community.

About JDR

In 2019 JDR became the first company to deliver 66kV Dynamic Cable technology and these innovative cables are operational at the pioneering WIndfloat Atlantic project offshore which is operating 20 km offshore Viana do Castelo, Portugal. This pioneering project operates three giant 8.4 MW wind turbines at 185 m above the ocean surface, and on platforms anchored to the seabed 100 m below.

Floating Wind is a next-generation renewable energy technology that is now entering the commercialization phase following key demonstration projects such as Hywind Scotland and the Windfloat project here in Portugal. With 40% of the world’s population living within 60 km of the coastline, and since much of the near shore continental shelves extend up to 200km from shore at depths of 60 to 100m, floating wind offers a global opportunity to decarbonize population-dense coastal towns and cities. Earlier this year the Crown Estate Scotland, the owner of the seabed around the UK coastline, announced the consenting of some 15 GW of floating offshore wind around Scotland. This represents a huge opportunity for JDR and companies like us who now have the opportunity to successfully transition to the Floating Wind sector.

JDR is on course to expand and capitalize on these green energy growth opportunities and the company is proud to be part of the race to net zero, having recently registered with the Science-Based Targets Initiative. Whilst the company is a key enabler of low carbon energy use, the company must also seek to reduce its own emissions, own usage of resources and energy, and continue to reduce the impact on the environment and society in all we are doing.

The co-location of our new Cambois, Northumberland facility will enable reduced road transportation of the raw materials used in cable manufacture with the company planning to secure deliveries with more transport segments being rail and sea freight directly to the Port of Blyth from Rotteram. The project will also be powered by renewable energy sources, whether by connecting to local solar and wind power plants. Rainwater capture and usage are possible to reduce water consumption, as well as regenerative energy capture and storage from rotating machinery. All of these initiatives are being planned to reduce emissions once the facility is operational.