The 1,075 MW Seagreen offshore wind farm, soon to be the largest of its kind in Scottish waters, has produced first power on 22 August, when the first wind turbine was commissioned and connected to the grid.
The GBP 3 billion (approx. EUR 3.6 billion) project, owned by SSE Renewables and TotalEnergies, is located 27 kilometres off the coast of Angus in Scotland, will comprise 114 Vestas 10 MW turbines, all of which are expected to be operational in the first half of 2023.
Besides being the largest Scottish wind farm, Seagreen is also the world’s deepest project of this kind using bottom-fixed foundations. A jacket foundation designated for the deepest location within the project site will be installed at 59 metres below sea level in December.
The foundation installation campaign, being carried out by Seaway 7 out of Scotland’s Port of Nigg, is running in parallel with the wind turbine installation programme.
The wind turbines are being transported from Vestas’ turbine marshalling base at Able Seaton Port in Hartlepool and installed at the site by Cadeler’s wind farm installation vessel, Wind Orca .
The first unit was installed in December last year, marking the installation of the first 10 MW offshore wind turbine in Europe.
SSE Renewables (49 per cent) is leading the development and construction of the Seagreen project on behalf of the partnership with TotalEnergies (51 per cent) and will operate Seagreen on completion for its expected 25-year lifetime.
Once operational next year, the 1.1 GW wind farm will be capable of generating around 5,000 GWh of renewable energy annually which is enough electricity to power more than 1.6 million UK homes.