Ocean Winds, the developer of the Moray Firth offshore wind farm, has installed the first out of 60 planned Siemens Gamesa turbines capable of 14.7 MW output.
The pre-assembly activity of the 60 turbines is being managed by Siemens Gamesa, Siemens Energy’s wind business, who are also manufacturing all the 180 B108 blades for the project at their quayside factory in Hull.
Supplied with Power Boost, each Siemens Gamesa SG 14-222 DD wind turbine for the Moray West project is said to be able to generate up to 14.7 MW output.
They feature 108-meter-long blades, which are the largest being made in the UK, and even longer than the Wembley Stadium football pitch. The blades are built to withstand exceedingly strong wind forces in a demanding offshore environment.
Siemens Gamesa is marshalling all turbine components at Port of Nigg from where the Cadeler heavy lift vessel ‘Wind Orca’ is undertaking the installations. The wind turbine installation campaign is due to run for most of the rest of 2024, Ocean Winds said.
Ocean Winds is a 50-50 joint venture, owned by EDP Renewables and ENGIE, in charge of the development of the 882 MW project.
“Installing this new model of huge wind turbines, with the longest blades in the UK, demonstrates the commitment of Ocean Winds to innovation as well as the UK supply chain. All the blades being fabricated in Siemens Gamesa’s recently expanded facility in Hull and all the components being marshalled through Port of Nigg.
“We now look forward to successfully and safely completing the remaining turbine installations as we reach for full export capacity, helping to deliver Net Zero targets and lower costs to consumers,” said Pete Geddes, Project Director for Moray West.
“It’s fantastic to see the first Moray West turbine successfully installed out in the North Sea. I’m so proud of our team who have been working hard to deliver the 180 wind turbine blades for this project and supporting the safe transportation and installation of these turbines. Moray West will be an important step forward in achieving the UK’s offshore wind targets,” added Darren Davidson, Vice President of Siemens Energy UK&I and Siemens Gamesa UK.