Banchory-based engineering firm Ecosse Subsea Systems said yesterday it had finished work on a £5million contract to clear the seabed for an offshore wind farm.
Ecosse, founded in 1996, said its SCAR 2 plough cleared more than 3,000 boulders at the site of Danish firm Dong Energy’s Race Bank wind farm off the Norfolk and Lincolnshire coast.
Race Bank will have 91 turbines that can generate enough electricity to power more than 500,000 homes.
Ecosse said it overcame tough environmental conditions to complete the job in about 175 shipping days, using a number of different vessels.
Ecosse started out as a subsea technology firm working in the oil and gas sector, but has since expanded into renewables.
In recent times it has been working on seabed clearance projects in the Baltic Sea.
ESS commercial director Keith McDermott said: “With our SCAR Seabed System we have set the standard for technology which is reliable and robust in the delivery of fast and efficient seabed clearance projects. We were working in some very difficult environmental conditions and with a variety of soil conditions and the SCAR proved its worth on both counts.
“We have built up a wealth of experience in the renewables sector and the SCAR Seabed System is a pioneer in seabed and cable route preparation workscopes. We are targeting a number of planned European wind farm projects where we think ESS can add value to the construction phase.”
DONG Energy’s senior project manager, Luke Bridgman, said: “Ecosse has done an excellent job preparing the seabed for our arrays, export cable and foundation installation.”