Construction of the world’s deepest fixed bottom offshore wind farm, which is also Scotland’s largest, has reached a new milestone as over 50% of the jacket foundation substructures have now been installed.
The three-legged jacket foundations each weigh approx. 2,000 tonnes and will play a critical role in safely supporting the wind turbines during Seagreen’s 25 year operational lifespan.
Situated around 27km off the Angus coast, the £3bn wind farm is a joint venture between SSE Renewables (49%) and TotalEnergies (51%).
When complete, Seagreen will consist of 114 Vestas V164-10.0 MW turbines, the first of which started generating power to the UK national grid last week. The wind farm will be capable of generating around 5,000 GWh of renewable energy annually which is enough clean and sustainable electricity to power more than 1.6m UK homes.
SSE Renewables is leading the development and construction of the Seagreen project and will operate Seagreen on completion for its expected 25-year lifetime. Installation of the foundations is being carried out by Aberdeen-based Seaway 7.
John Hill, Seagreen’s Project Director, said:
“Seeing the jacket installation process reach the halfway point demonstrates successful innovation with the largest ever deployment of foundations using suction caissons in offshore wind. Reaching this milestone is a testament to the hard work and determination of everyone involved in the construction of Scotland’s largest and the world’s deepest fixed bottom offshore wind farm.
“This achievement follows the significant announcement last week where first power was generated from the first turning turbines. Once operational in the first half of 2023, Seagreen will make a significant contribution to Scotland’s and the UK’s net zero targets.”
The overall turbine foundations installation campaign is supporting over 140 skilled jobs at Port of Nigg, delivering a green jobs boost and significant economic benefit to the Highlands and Scotland.
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