The second wind turbine installation campaign is about to start at the 450 MW Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind farm site off the coast of Fife, Scotland .
According to a notice to mariners from the project, Fred Olsen Windcarrier’s jack-up vessel Brave Tern is scheduled to commence the work on or around 17 January. The vessel will load wind turbine components at the Port of Dundee and transport them to the project site, where it will then install them.
AIS data available online shows Brave Tern arrived at the Scottish port from Esbjerg on 14 January.
Brave Tern is taking over wind turbine installation from Blue Tern which installed 35 wind turbines, and three more partially, in the first campaign that was completed at the end of 2024.
The second installation campaign will see the remaining wind turbines installed, according to the notice from 14 January.
The 450 MW Neart na Gaoithe, owned by EDF Renewables and ESB, 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.
As the second installation campaign is set to start, the commissioning of the installed wind turbines continues from Edda Wind’s service operation vessel (SOV) Vestri Enabler and several crew transfer and supply vessels.
Neart na Gaoithe produced first power in October 2024.
Electricity generated by Neart na Gaoithe is transmitted via the subsea export cable from the offshore substation to Thorntonloch Beach, where the underground onshore export cable feeds it to the national grid.