E.ON, one of the country's leading green generators, has announced that the team responsible for the operation and maintenance of Robin Rigg offshore wind farm has moved into its new base in the Port of Workington.

The first 22 members of the 32-strong team, almost all of whom hail from Workington and the surrounding towns, will spend most of the next year preparing to run the 180MW offshore wind farm, which is expected to be completed in 2009.

Sally Shenton, E.ON Site Manager, said: "Now that we've set up a permanent base in the Port, Robin Rigg is going to be an important part of the local community for the next 20 years, and we're delighted that almost all of the team responsible for the day to day running of the wind farm are local.

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"We've recruited 15 wind turbine technicians, three wind farm engineers, a maintenance coordinator and a local administrator from across northern Cumbria, including people from Workington, Maryport, Egremont and Wigton.

"We've also used local suppliers to carry out some of the training, including the excellent NARC climbing training centre in Kendal and St John's Ambulance in Whitehaven and Carlisle for first aid training."

In addition to safety training, the team will spend the coming months preparing to operate Robin Rigg's wind turbines, and training to carry out maintenance work offshore.

Local construction company Thomas Armstrong was awarded the contract to build Robin Rigg's operation and maintenance facility in the Port in December 2007. E.ON plans to hold an event later this year to help local suppliers understand the needs of the wind farm.

(CD/JM)