The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Milestone as wind farm substation is installed offshore
The world’s largest offshore wind installation vessel has been used to achieve a milestone in the Neart na Gaoithe (NnG) wind farm project off the coast of Fife.
The NnG wind farm has successfully installed the first of its two offshore electricity substations.
Saipem used the largest offshore wind installation vessel in the world, the Heerema Sleipnir, to place the 1,100-tonne topside on to one of the two foundation jackets. The vessel is equipped with two cranes of 10,000 metric tonnes lifting capacity each.
It has a reinforced deck area of 220 meters in length and 102 meters in width.
NnG is located 15km off the coast of Fife. Power generated by the 54-turbine project will be exported via the offshore substations to its onshore substation in East Lothian.
The first turbines will be operational in mid-2023, with completion of the entire wind farm scheduled for 2024. The turbines are being assembled at the Port of Dundee. Each turbine blade is 83.5 metres in length.
The project, jointly owned by EDF Renewables and ESB, will have a capacity of around 450 megawatts – enough to power around 375,000 homes.
Matthias Haag, NnG project director, said: “Having the first of NnG’s two offshore substations in place is a really important moment for everyone involved in the construction of this major offshore development for Scotland.
“A lot of hard work has gone in to preparing the seabed and installing two foundation jackets to help us reach this significant milestone.
“I’m pleased that we can now continue with connecting the platform to the grid and undertaking further foundation works.
“It’s an exciting time for NnG as construction continues both offshore and onshore, and we are on track for our first turbines to be operational in mid2023, with completion of the entire wind farm scheduled for 2024.”
“A lot of hard work has gone in to preparing the seabed and installing two foundation jackets to help us reach this milestone