Northern Ireland is set to become a world leader in the production of renewable energy facilities.

Belfast Harbour and Danish firm DONG Energy have signed a letter of intent to use Belfast Harbour as a base for constructing thousands of giant turbines for off-shore wind farms, providing a much needed boost to the local economy.

The Harbour is set to fund and build a new £40m, 450-metre quay and 50-acre building space, roughly twice the size of Belfast’s Botanic Gardens, on the Co Down side of the Harbour.

The massive project is expected to create up to 300 full time jobs on completion and 150 construction posts during building.

Over the next 20 years it is expected 11,000 new offshore wind turbines will be built in UK and Irish waters at a cost of around £100bn, with almost a quarter of the planned structures located within 150 nautical miles.

The land where the proposed platform will be sited, set for completion in 2013, was reclaimed from the sea in 1960 and has been kept vacant in anticipation of a major development for over five decades.

Peter Gedbjerg, head of UK operations for DONG and company vice president, explained why Belfast was chosen as the preferred location, beating off competition from other ports around the world.

“The size of the harbour is suitable, the location of the harbour is suitable, we have had some very fruitful negotiations and we are impressed with the people here,” he said.

“We are confident for the future because we do know Belfast has been a centre of industry in the past.”

Len O’Hagan, Belfast Harbour chairman, said that there were multiple options for the development in the future.

“We look at it this way — this is a huge boost for manufacturing,” he said.

“DONG are going to need metal, they are going to need fans, they are going to need all sorts of things — this is an opportunity for other businesses to cluster in this area and there will be knock-on benefits for other businesses, other industries, employment.

“Belfast has been named as the preferred bidder ahead of ports in countries from all over the world.”

First Minister Peter Robinson said that he hoped that the announcement would be the catalyst which could propel Belfast to worldwide attention and kick-start economic growth.

“Over the next 20 years we're expecting to be investing £100bn in turbines, so this is just part of a wider project,” he said.

“It will put Belfast in an ideal position to be a future innovator in this area.

“The investment by DONG will be a catalyst to encourage other companies to move in to Northern Ireland to invest in renewable energy.

“We are ideally placed in terms of the climate in Northern Ireland — we do get a lot of wind and we are in a good position to make use of this.

“Even before we get to the jobs created in the industry, we have 150 jobs for construction workers, which is vitally important given the jobs that have been lost in that sector.

“Once the project gets up and running, it is important for us to be able to provide the 300 jobs for those involved in the project.”

Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said that the jobs and investment will not benefit Belfast alone.

“This announcement will help us build a stronger economy. One thing I am struck by when speaking to people who work in this part of the city, in the Titanic Quarter, is that they are from all corners of Northern Ireland.

“There is a tendency for people to assume that Belfast gets everything, but this announcement will be important for people from all over Northern Ireland who will travel to avail of these jobs and indeed this development as a whole will benefit England, Scotland and Wales as well as here.”

He added: “Renewable energy is a massive debate going on across the world. We have some of the best resource in the world here — we’re on an island, we have the people and we have the capabilities — and we can be the custodians of a plan for more people to harness green energy across the UK and Europe.”

DONG

Dansk Olie og Naturgas A/S (DONG) Energy was founded in 1972 to manage resources in the Danish sector of the North Sea and is a leading innovator in the renewable energies market.

The majority of the company (73%) is owned by the Danish government, and it is the largest power producer in Denmark, responsible for 49% of the country’s electricity and 35% of its heat.

It also owns facilities in Germany, Sweden and Norway, where it focuses on deep drilling, oil and gas production, and hydro and wind power. DONG has built five of the 10 largest offshore wind farms in the world.