By Scott Wright

THE Port of Nigg near Inverness has landed work to support the construction of the giant Seagreen offshore wind farm in the Firth of Forth, handing a jobs boost to the area.

The contract will support 141 skilled jobs at the port in Tain during the peak construction period, SSE Renewables and Total said. That number will include work for 93 permanent roles already on site, in addition to 48 new posts to be advertised in the coming months.

The Seagreen wind farm is being constructed under a joint venture between SSE Renewables and Total. Located 27km off the Angus coast, it will provide enough green energy to power 1.6 million homes. It is expected to generate first power by the end of this year, before entering commercial operation in 2022/23.

The joint venture partners have appointed Scotland’s Global Energy Group as the marshalling, storage and logistics base for 114 wind turbine foundation structures at its Nigg port.

Paul Cooley, director of Capital Projects at SSE Renewables, said: “Today’s announcement is great news for Scotland and puts Scottish offshore wind to the fore of the country’s green economic recovery. This major construction contract at Port of Nigg for Seagreen Offshore Wind Farm will create 48 new local jobs out of a total 141 roles that will be required to support this important delivery phase of what will become Scotland’s largest offshore wind farm when complete.”

Tim Cornelius, chief of Global Energy Group, said: “The heavy load bearing capacity and deep-water quayside together with the facility’s strategic location and on-site, experienced, support services make the Port of Nigg the ideal choice for the execution of projects of this scale.”