Ocean Winds has installed the 60th and final wind turbine at its Moray West offshore wind farm in the Moray Firth.
The 882MW wind farm is nearing the end of the construction phase and will become fully operational during 2025 in line with the originally projected commercial operations date.
The project uses Siemens Gamesa SG 14-222 DD wind turbines, each of which can generate up to 14.7MW, making them the largest offshore commercial turbines in Europe.
The pre-assembly activity of the 60 turbines has been managed by Siemens Gamesa, Siemens Energy’s wind business, which also manufactured all the 180 blades for the project at its facility in Hull, UK.
Siemens Gamesa has been marshalling all turbine components at Port of Nigg from where the Cadeler heavy lift vessel Wind Orca undertook the installation.
Siemens Gamesa’s technicians on land and on board the vessel have overseen each installation and are in the process of commissioning each turbine.
Project director of Moray West Pete Geddes commented: “What a journey– and what a result! Subsea surveys, boulder clearance, bomb disposal, scour protection, monopiles, vibro-hammers, transition pieces, cables, onshore and offshore substations – and finally, the deployment of the world’s largest capacity offshore wind turbine to date.
“Moray West really has ‘set the bar high’ in terms of both technological innovation, and rock-solid project execution. More important than ever, the project has been delivered on time, on budget, and with the highest level of quality.”
Moray West is situated next to its sister project Moray East, and close to Ocean Winds 2GW Caledonia project.
Ocean Winds UK country manager Adam Morrison commented: “This is a fantastic milestone to mark the installation of all the wind turbines for Moray West. The project has some way to go before it is fully commissioned, nevertheless this landmark demonstrates Ocean Winds’ commitment to successful delivery through our fantastic professional and safe teams.
“With two more projects in development in the UK and Moray East already operating, we are proud to be leaders in the UK’s energy transition. Over more than a decade developing our projects in the Moray Firth region we have been key drivers in developing the supply chain, creating and support varied jobs in Scotland and the wider UK.”