Moray East marks milestone as first turbine is installed
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The first wind turbine has been installed at Moray East wind farm, bringing the 950MW project a step nearer completion.
Eventually 100 9.5MW turbines will be installed at the site, 22km off the Scottish coast, generating enough energy to power some 950,000 homes.
Project director Marcel Sunier said: “I am delighted to be able to announce one of the project’s most visible and distinctive milestones – the safe and successful installation of our first wind turbine.
"This is a truly amazing team effort considering the circumstances under which the teams had to work to achieve that important milestone. The resilience and good co-operation was one of the key factors in achieving this.
"I am looking forward to see the remaining 99 wind turbines being installed safely and successfully during the forthcoming months and wish to thank all those involved in making this happen.”
Mr Sunier described Moray East as Scotland's largest infrastructure project and one which had demanded massive effort, much of it below ground or under sea.
Moray East’s head of construction, Enrique Alvarez Cordobes, said: “This has demanded precision engineering with massive components, requiring excellent co-operation and co-ordination between a range of companies both on land and at sea, and I would like to offer my thanks and congratulations to all those who have made this most distinctive and visible milestone possible."
Work to instal the 100 three-legged steel foundations on the sea-bed was completed in December and shortly after the New Year, specialist vessel, Bold Tern, arrived at the Port of Nigg where pre-assembly work is being undertaken at Global Energy’s facility.
Chartered by MHI Vestas from Fred Olsen Windcarrier fleet, the 132m Bold Tern is a self-elevating and self-propelled jack-up installation vessel with a typically payload of 9500 tonnes.
“The wind turbine components are marshalled on the quayside then loaded on to the installation vessel, which then sails to each turbine site where there is a jacket, already installed in the Firth," Mr Sunier explained.
"The tower is assembled on the jacket, the nacelle being put on top and the blades are then mounted. All of this demands considerable precision, skill and planning, manipulating, with great accuracy, massive components at height in the challenging conditions of the Moray Firth.”
The turbine commissioning work will be carried out from Acta Centaurus and supported by two crew transfer vessels, HST Harri and Windcat 40.
Once fully operational, Moray East is expected to generate the equivalent of 40 per cent of Scotland’s electricity, saving 1.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually and playing an important part in helping achieve net zero carbon targets.
The electrical power generated will be collected offshore via buried inter-array cables to three offshore substations and exported onshore via three export cables and transmitted onto the National Grid network.
The project developer – Moray Offshore Windfarm East Ltd (MOWEL), which is a joint venture by Ocean Winds, Diamond Green Limited and CTG – says power will be generated at a cost of £57.50 per MWhr (megawatt hour), the lowest cost of any new renewable generation and two-thirds less than offshore wind farms in operation around the UK today.
Moray East is expected to be fully operational by 2022.
