Sarens PSG, a joint venture between Sarens and PSG Marine & Logistics established in summer 2022, has won a contract to undertake the marshalling work at Invergordon of 62 monopiles prior to installation as part of the Moray West offshore wind farm offshore the UK.
Ocean Winds, created as a 50-50 joint venture, owned by EDP Renewables and ENGIE, is developing the Moray West project.
The monopiles will be the largest and heaviest XXL monopiles ever handled in the UK with weights close to 2,000 tonnes, Ocean Winds said.
Offloading and marshalling for storage and load out of the monopiles will be undertaken by Sarens PSG using their fleet of self-propelled modular transporters (SPMTs). The monopiles will start to arrive in Invergordon in mid-2023, with installation expected to be completed around a year later.
Pete Geddes, EPC Director for Ocean Winds in the UK with responsibility for Moray West, said: “From the successful working with PSG on the Moray East project we are delighted that the capabilities of the Sarens PSG joint venture have enhanced the offering to meet the needs of Moray West. Handling the XXL monopiles will be a first.
"The track record of Sarens and PSG, together with their large fleet of SPMTs, provided key confidence to make this selection. The ambitious delivery programme will mean that from this summer we’ll start working with Sarens PSG to offload and marshall the monopiles."
"We hope that this demonstration of confidence in Sarens PSG supports their investment plans to prepare for the wave of ScotWind sites that are in the development pipeline. This includes the Ocean Winds ‘Caledonia’ project that should be in construction well before the end of the decade.”
Steve Clark, Managing Director at Sarens PSG, said: "The combination of strategically located deep-water heavy lift quaysides and vast adjacent laydown combined with Sarens PSG’s heavy lift & transport experience, engineering capacities, and market leading equipment provision, makes Invergordon and Sarens PSG the ideal and compelling choice for this project and for the delivery of large-scale storage and marshalling of both fixed and floating offshore wind projects."
The Moray West monopiles will be installed by DEME Offshore's flagship vessel, Orion. DEME's jack-up vessel Apollo will install the transition pieces.
Once fully operational, the Moray West wind farm will be able to power around 640,000 households in Scotland.