Backbone of Offshore Wind: UK Energy Minister visits Venterra as Blyth marks 25 years of offshore wind innovation

Blyth, Northumberland: Venterra Group, a leading offshore wind services company, hosted UK Energy Minister, Michael Shanks MP, at their company Osbit’s facility in Blyth as part of a visit marking 25 years since the UK’s first offshore wind farm was built. The visit spotlighted the local expertise, technologies and services that supply chain companies like Venterra are delivering to support offshore wind developments at home and worldwide, helping to cement the UK’s position as a global leader in clean energy solutions.

The Minister joined a roundtable with Venterra companies Osbit and Partrac, alongside RenewableUK, The Crown Estate, Energi Coast and The North East Combined Authority, to discuss energy security and the investment needed to scale UK supply chain capacity. He also toured Osbit’s expanded facility, meeting engineers and graduates whose work underpins offshore wind delivery worldwide.

From advanced metocean measurement to subsea cable protection, Venterra’s technologies are critical to building and operating offshore wind farms globally. Highlights from the tour included:

• V‑LiDAR: the world’s most advanced dual floating LiDAR buoy system – and the first of its kind to be designed, engineered and built in the UK – delivering high‑fidelity wind resource data for developers.
• Next‑generation subsea trenching: including Osbit’s design and build of the NKT T3600, one of the world’s most powerful cable trenchers, capable of burying high‑voltage cables up to 5.5 metres below the seabed – providing critical protection for offshore wind infrastructure and strengthening energy security.
• Expanded UK manufacturing: Osbit’s 3,350 m² assembly and service facility, creating skilled jobs and quadrupling build-and-test capacity to meet growing demand from UK and international markets.

Ed Daniels, CEO, Venterra Group, said:

“As we mark 25 years since the UK’s first offshore wind farm, this visit by Minister Shanks shines a spotlight on what we’ve always known: offshore wind doesn’t happen without a strong and capable supply chain. Turbines don’t install themselves; cables aren’t protected without world-class engineering; projects don’t get financed without bankable metocean data. This expertise and the innovation driving it is the backbone of delivery. To unlock the next wave of UK projects and strengthen energy security, we need continued, targeted investment to scale these capabilities, building on our engineering heritage in regional clusters and creating skilled jobs across coastal communities.”

Media Enquiries:

Stiofain MacDaibhead,

Group Director of Communications

Venterra

+353 86 3298700

stiofain.macdaibhead@venterra-group.com