The Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind farm, with a total capacity of 450 MW, is making significant progress with installing its first 8 MW Siemens Gamesa wind turbine. The joint venture between EDF Renewables and ESB announced this milestone on July 21st. Fred. Olsen Windcarrier’s Blue Tern vessel successfully transported components for four turbines. The components were transported from the marshaling site at the Port of Dundee to the Neart na Gaoithe (NnG) construction site. The site is located approximately 15 kilometers off the coast of Fife.
David Webster, the Director of Energy at Forth Ports, expressed pride in the Port of Dundee’s ability to develop world-class port infrastructure. Thus, it will support the delivery of large-scale offshore wind farms. Collaboration between NnG, Siemens Gamesa, and the port authorities has successfully installed the first turbine. It will thus contribute to renewable energy generation and fosters local supply chain development and industry cooperation.
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Neart na Gaoithe offshore Wind Farm’s Construction Completion
The 450 MW offshore wind farm is scheduled for full commissioning in 2024 and is jointly owned by EDF Renewables and ESB. It is thus expected to provide enough electricity to power approximately 375,000 households annually.
Once operational, this turbine will become the first at NnG to generate electricity. It is channeled through the subsea inter-array cable to the offshore substation. Furthermore, it is then channeled via the subsea export cable to Thorntonloch Beach. At the beach is where an underground onshore export cable will transmit the power to the national grid.
The NnG Project Director, Matthias Haag, expressed excitement over this momentous achievement. He also emphasized that it represents a significant step towards generating 450 MW of clean, green energy. As a result, it will support Scotland’s Net Zero targets.
The NnG wind turbines, each with an 8 MW capacity, are being installed on jacket foundations. Currently, 33 foundations have been placed at the project site, with the first ten installed in the previous year’s fourth quarter. On July 9th, the heavy lift vessel Thialf completed the second phase of the work, successfully positioning 22 jackets.
Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind farm’s turbine commissioning process will be carried out using the vessel HST Swansea. Inter-array cable installation is also in progress at the project site. In May of this year, the first campaign saw the laying of six inter-array cables and one interconnection cable between the wind farm’s two substations.
