Huge wind farm connected to grid

An offshore wind farm which will have the world’s most powerful turbines has been connected to the National Grid.

The Vattenfall European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC) in Aberdeen Bay is expected to produce enough energy to power 78,529 homes once complete.

The connection project started early last year and involved laying more than four miles of high voltage underground cable between Scottish & Southern Electricity Networks’ (SSEN) upgraded substation in Dyce on the outskirts of Aberdeen and the wind farm’s onshore substation at Blackdog on the coast.

More than seven miles of overhead line between Dyce and Kintore was replaced.

The 11-turbine development, which will be Scotland’s largest offshore wind test and demonstration facility and will trial next generation technology, faced delays including legal challenges from Donald Trump over views from his golf course at Balmedie. It is expected to produce electricity by this summer and once fully operational is predicted to generate the equivalent of 70 per cent of Aberdeen’s domestic electricity demand.

Adam Ezzamel, project director at Vattenfall, said: “This is another important step forward in the project’s construction and follows the successful installation of the first game-changing suction bucket jacket foundation.”