The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
SSE Renewables hails Beatrice completion
Offshore wind farm will provide power for 450,000 homes
After three years of construction, the last of 84 offshore wind turbines at Beatrice wind farm has been commissioned.
The event marks the completion of Scotland’s largest offshore wind farm, which was constructed on time, under budget and has a total installed capacity of 588MW.
The site is located 13 kilometres off the Caithness coast and each of the turbines stands at 188 metres from sea level to blade tip – taller than the London Eye.
The facility uses jacket foundations, with each jacket weighing around 1,000 tonnes, and are the deepest water fixed foundations of any wind farm in the world, installed in water depths in excess of 56 metres.
The project is a joint venture development of Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Limited (Bowl) led by Perthbased energy giant SSE Renewables (40%), Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (35%) and Red Rock Power Limited (25%).
The construction saw more than £1.1 billion of spend in the UK, with around half of this in Scotland.
Jim Smith, managing director of SSE Renewables, said: “Completing the offshore construction at Beatrice is a testament to the capabilities of SSE Renewables and our project partners.
“Delivering one of Scotland’s largest ever private investments on time and under budget is a fantastic achievement given its complexity and we would like to thank everyone who has helped us make the project a reality.”
As Beatrice’s majority shareholder, SSE Renewables will manage operations and maintenance from a new base in Wick, having invested over £20 million in the coastal town to redevelop the harbour front.
Up to 90 long-term members of staff will be based at a redeveloped facility there.
Global Energy Group chairman Roy MacGregor said: “At Global Energy’s Port of Nigg, we are very proud to have played our part in the delivery of SSE’s first Scottish offshore wind farm.”