Scottish Wind Farm Sets Record for Deepest Fixed Installation
The ongoing installation of the Seagreen Wind Farm reached several key milestones this week including the deepest yet installation of a fixed wind turbine. The site which is called Scotland’s largest offshore wind farm also reached the halfway point in its installation while it first generated power to the UK national grid in August.
Seagreen is being developed by SSE Renewables along with its ownership partner TotalEnergies in the North Sea approximately 17 miles off the east coast of Scotland. This week, the deepest fixed bottom turbine ever installed was placed at a depth of 57.4 meters (approximately 188 feet). Seagreen however will beat its own record when another turbine is installed at an even great depth in early 2023. The wind farm is located in a challenging area and is being installed with several wind turbines in water depths of more than 55 meters.
The record installation came as the project also reached the halfway mark. The construction campaign at the Seagreen Wind Farm completed the installation of the fifty-seventh Vestas V164-10.0 MW turbine. The current project calls for the installation of 114 wind turbines.
The staging and installation of materials for the wind farm have been ongoing since 2021 with elements including blades, nacelles, and the supporting towers arriving from Vestas’ base at Able Seaton Port in Hartlepool in the North-East of England. Sixty-three of the jacket foundation substructures which support the turbines are now in place. The three-legged jacket foundations each weigh approximately 2,000 tons and play a critical role in supporting the wind turbines at Seagreen.
“Our milestone announcements are coming thick and fast, which just shows the good progress we are making to the windfarm being operational in the first half of 2023 when Seagreen will make a significant contribution to Scotland’s and the UK’s net zero targets,” said John Hill, Seagreen’s Project Director. “Reaching the halfway point in turbine installation is yet another testament to the dedication and determination of everyone on the team at the Seagreen Wind Farm project.”
The project received consent for a total of 150 wind turbines and in January 2022 they submitted papers proposing to increase the size of the final 36 wind turbines to be installed. According to the company, when fully operational, the wind farm will be capable of generating around 5,000 GWh of renewable energy annually which is enough electricity to power more than 1.6 million UK homes.