Two-thirds of wind turbines have been installed at the Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind farm in Scotland, which produced its first power in October. According to notices to mariners from the project issued on 20 November and 3 December, 35 wind turbines are up at the project site with three more partially installed.
Owned by EDF Renewables and ESB and being built 15.5 kilometres off the coast of Fife, the 450 MW will comprise 54 Siemens Gamesa 8 MW wind turbines, all of which are expected to be in place and commissioned by the summer of 2025.
The loadout of turbine components and the installation of the wind turbines were carried out from the Port of Dundee by Fred. Olsen Windcarrier’s vessel Blue Tern which installed the first wind turbine in July 2023.
This October, Neart na Gaoithe started feeding power to the national grid.
According to the latest marine notices from the project, the work on commissioning the offshore wind turbines that commenced in March 2024 continues.
Electricity generated by Neart na Gaoithe turbines flows via the subsea inter-array cables to the offshore substation and, from there, via the subsea export cable to Thorntonloch Beach, where the underground onshore export cable transmits it to the national grid.