Scotland’s largest offshore wind farm installs first turbine foundation

Scotland’s largest offshore wind farm installs first turbine foundation
(The first turbine jacket foundation is installed at the Seagreen Wind Farm site, 27 kilometres off the coast of the county of Angus in Scotland Credit: SSE Renewables )

The first turbine jacket foundation has been installed at the 1.1 gigawatt Seagreen Offshore Wind Farm project site offshore Scotland.

The $4 billion Seagreen Offshore Wind Project, a joint venture between TotalEnergies and SSE Renewables, is Scotland's largest and the world's deepest, fixed-bottom offshore wind farm. The jacket foundation installation marks the first-ever gigawatt-scale deployment of suction caisson technology to fix offshore wind turbine foundations to the seabed, according to the group.

“Scotland’s energy transition is beginning to accelerate, and we have taken another important step towards the Net-Zero goal," said Philippe de Cacqueray, Head of Offshore Wind UK at TotalEnergies. "TotalEnergies is delighted that Seagreen has now installed the first jacket at what will become Scotland’s largest offshore wind farm.”

The offshore wind project will ultimately support 114 wind turbine foundations, each equipped with a Vestas V164-10 MW turbine. The project is expected to begin commercial operation in 2023.

A barge shipping turbine jacket foundations for installation at the Seagreen Wind Farm passes Broughty Ferry on Saturday. The bases were brought to Port of Dundee whilst the barge was readied for offshore installation. The Port of Dundee is a designated safe haven for Seagreen Wind Farm and will be used on occasion for storage and preparation operations throughout the Seagreen build phase, into the autumn of 2022. Credit: Ken le Grice

In August, installation of the world's largest floating offshore wind farm -- a 48 MW project off the coast of Aberdeenshire, Scotland -- was completed.

The Kincardine Offshore Wind farm is expected to generate up to 218 GWh of clean electricity each year, enough to power 55,000 Scottish households. The project is comprised of a 2MW Vestas turbine in addition to five 9.5 MW Vestas turbines.

ABS Class services to the facility include verifying full compliance with the ABS Guide for Building and Classing Floating Offshore Wind Turbines, and cover all phases of the project including design, fabrication, transport, and service inspections. 

The project is being developed by Kincardine Offshore Wind, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pilot Offshore Renewables (POR). Cobra Wind, a subsidiary of ACS Group, is responsible for the engineering, design, supply, construction, and commissioning of the Kincardine floating wind farm.