Construction of what will become Scotland’s largest offshore wind farm has reached its latest milestone.
A 5,100 tonne jacket has been installed at the Seagreen development in preparation for the project’s offshore substation topside, which is due to be installed in early 2022.
Engineered, constructed and installed by Petrofac (LSE: PFC), the six-legged jacket is now fixed to the seabed, at a water depth of around 55 metres.
It will play a critical role in safely supporting the offshore substation above the sea during Seagreen’s 25-year operational lifespan.
With a seabed footprint of 43m x 43m, the structure has built in tubing designed to guide the incoming 15 inter-array cables bringing the electricity generated by the turbines to the substation.
In addition, the jacket also has tubing to guide the outgoing three export cables from the offshore substation to the seabed.
It was installed using the Saipem 7000 heavy lift vessel.
© Supplied by SSE RenewablesWhen completed late next year, Seagreen will consist of 114 Vestas V164-10.0 MW turbines, the first of which was installed last week.
In addition to holding the Scottish title, it will be the world’s deepest fixed bottom offshore wind farm.
Situated around 16 miles off the Angus coast, the £3 billion wind farm is a joint venture between SSE Renewables (49%) and TotalEnergies (LSE: TTE) (51%).
At 1.1GW, Seagreen is Scotland’s largest renewable energy project and one of the biggest private investments in Scottish infrastructure.
It will be capable of generating around 5,000 gigawatt hours (GWh) of renewable energy annually – enough to power more than 1.6 million UK homes.
SSE Renewables is leading the development and construction of Seagreen. Upon completion, the SSE subsidiary will operate the project for its lifetime.
Seagreen project director John Hill said: “Hot on the heels of the installation of the first wind turbines comes another significant construction achievement with the offshore platform jacket being placed and secured safely on the seabed.
“Everyone involved can be justifiably proud of achievements like these which set the foundations for the project’s delivery over the next 12 or so months.”
The installation of the offshore platform will be undertaken alongside the ongoing Seagreen turbine installation programme and the foundation installation campaign.
First power is expected by early next year, with the wind farm expected to enter commercial operation in 2023.
Vipul Sawe, Petrofac project director, said: “We are proud to be part of this important project for Scotland’s energy transition, as engineering, procurement, construction and installation contractor.
“The installation of the Seagreen jacket was completed safely amidst Storm Arwen and Storm Barra, using several measures to minimise environmental impacts, such as low hammer energy and acoustic deterrent devices.
“We will continue to work closely with our partners to prepare for the safe and successful installation of the 4,800 tonne topside in early 2022.”
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