Offshore installation services firm DEME said Monday it would return to the Moray Firth to install the foundations for another offshore wind farm in Scotland, under a contract awarded by Ocean Winds.
The company was previously involved in the installation works at Moray East for the Ocean Winds consortium in 2020.
Moray West is DEME's second major project carried out for Ocean Winds, which is leading the development, and represents a sizeable contract for DEME. For DEME, a "sizeable contract" refers to a contract with a value of EUR 50 - 150 million.
DEME Offshore’s scope includes the installation of monopile foundations and transition pieces.
"In an industry breakthrough, this challenging project will be the first time XXL monopiles will be installed in the winter period, and DEME will deploy its double-staged, motion compensated pile gripper. Moray West will also be the first time a vibro-hammer is being utilised for the XXL monopiles to overcome weaker soil layers," DEME Offshore said.
As well as the XXL monopiles and transition pieces, DEME will perform the bolting and grouting works for the monopile/transition piece connections.
Orion & Apollo
DEME will use its recently delivered DP3 offshore installation vessel Orion which it has labeled "revolutionary."
The Orion will install the monopiles, and jack-up Apollo will be deployed for the installation of transition pieces.
"DEME’s expertise regarding this exceptionally challenging project will be combined with its high-tech fleet and specialised equipment, to ensure that the installation campaigns in 2023-2024 can be carried out efficiently," DEME said.
Once fully operational, the Moray West wind farm will be able to power around 640,000 households in Scotland.