Hunterston Port and Resource Campus (Hunterston PARC) is primed to secure a deal with a sustainable energy sector company that would result in the creation of 900 permanent jobs at the giant Ayrshire site. Owner Peel Ports Clydeport has signed an option agreement with XLCC for a 70-acre facility to include two factories producing high voltage direct current (HVDC) cable for use in the subsea transmission of renewable energy.
The plan also includes the construction of research and development laboratories, offices, stores, electrical infrastructure and a high-tech cable delivery system.The development requires investment in the order of £370m for buildings and plant, with another £200m for a commissioned specialist ship capable of transporting the massively heavy cable reels. The vessel would be shared with a third XLCC factory planned for Wales. The schedule is for test lengths of cable to be made by April 2023, with 200 jobs in place at the start of that year. Full manufacturing production will be underway by November 2024 with the remaining 700 jobs in place between May 2024 and November 2024. XLCC production will be for the interconnector and offshore wind farm export cable market. These cables would be used to carry supply to the National Grid where it will flow to consumers across the country, moving the UK closer to having a zero-carbon, low-cost energy network. XLCC is in discussions with three offshore energy companies about the supply of cable which would be produced at Hunterston, with delivery from 2025. XLCC has instigated the planning process with North Ayrshire Council and a planning application is expected to go before committee in February next year.