The last of the 11 turbines for a major wind farm project off the coast of Aberdeen has been installed.
The first foundation for Aberdeen Offshore Wind Farm, also known as the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC), was put in place just nine weeks ago.
The 93.2megawatt development faced legal challenges from US President Donald Trump, who claimed the turbines would spoil the views from his golf course at Balmedie
It is scheduled to generate first power in summer.
The wind farm will produce the equivalent of more than 70% of Aberdeen’s domestic electricity demand and annually displace 134,128 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
It features nine 8.4MW turbines along with two 8.8MW models, which are the most powerful in the world.
Vattenfall project director Adam Ezzamel said: “This is a magnificent offshore engineering feat for a project that involves industry-first technology and innovative approaches to the design and construction. Throughout construction, the project team and our contractors have encountered, tackled and resolved a number of challenges. The erection of the final turbine is a significant milestone, and with the completion of array cable installation, we now move on to the final commissioning phase of the wind farm prior to first power later this summer.
“One of our 1,800 tonne suction bucket jacket foundation was installed in what we believe is a world record of two hours and 40 minutes from the time the installation vessel entered the offshore site until deployment was complete. What makes this even more significant is that the EOWDC is the first offshore wind project to deploy this kind of foundation at commercial scale while it’s also the first to pair them with the world’s most powerful turbines.
“Full credit goes to the expertise of our project team and contractors who have worked collaboratively and vigorously to achieve this remarkable milestone in such a short timescale. As a flagship project for the north-east, the EOWDC helps underline the region’s status as Europe’s energy capital and reinforces Vattenfall’s vision to be fossil free within one generation.”
MHI Vestas chief operations officer Flemming Ougaard said: “We’re excited to see that the last turbine has been safely installed at Aberdeen Bay with our partner, Vattenfall. With clean power set to soon flow to the national grid from all 11 turbines, we very much look forward to operations and service at the new offshore wind park.”
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