Wind offshore Scotland: Towering turbine with 'power boost' blades stands tall at Moray West wind farm in north-east

The fixed-bottom turbine is the first of 60 being installed at the 882MW Moray West offshore wind farm, located around 14 miles off the coastline in the outer Moray Firth.

When complete, the wind farm will be capable of generating enough renewable electricity to supply around 1.3 million homes.

The 180 blades, made at a factory in Hull, each measure 108m long – making them the longest on an offshore wind farm in UK waters and the longest ever built in Britain.

International company Ocean Winds – a 50-50 joint venture between Spanish firm EDP Renewables and French multinational Engie – is behind the development.

Construction is nearing completion, with all foundation monopiles and two offshore substation platforms in place.

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Power export cables are already laid, while civil engineering works at the onshore substation and commissioning of electrical equipment are also in the final stages.

First power is expected by the middle of this year.

Siemens Gamesa, the wind business arm of German firm Siemens Energy, is in charge of marshalling all turbine components at the Port of Nigg, from where the heavy-lift vessel Wind Orca is being used to facilitate the installations.

Pete Geddes, project director for Moray West, has welcomed the progress being made on the project.

“This is a fantastic achievement, which is the result of the collective efforts of an incredible team of skilled professionals,” he said.

“The Moray West team can feel really proud of this huge milestone.”

A total of eight offshore wind farms already operate in Scottish waters, including the world’s first floating schemes, with a combined capacity of almost 3GW.

Ocean Winds also owns the existing 950MW Moray East scheme.

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The Scottish government has set out aims to bring a further 11GW of offshore wind online by 2030 – enough to power more than eight million households.

Moray West is one of two offshore schemes currently under construction – the other is the 450MW Neart na Gaoithe, off the Fife coast.

Five more projects are due to get underway soon, with planning consent already in place.

A further 20 schemes are planned under the ScotWind seabed leasing auctions, including 13 floating arrays, as well as 12 projects which come under the Innovation and Targeted Oil & Gas programme, designed to cut emissions from petroleum production.

Mr Geddes added: “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.

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“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.”

Darren Davidson, vice president of Siemens Energy UK&I and Siemens Gamesa UK, said:

“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.”

Combined, the ScotWind projects are expected to bring almost 50GW of renewable electricity to the grid in future years.

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Consented this week, the 560MW Green Volt wind farm, off Aberdeenshire, will be the world’s largest floating offshore scheme when built.

However, there is a much bigger floating scheme planned – the 3.6GW Ossian project, to be sited in deep waters off the Angus coast – which will comfortably scoop the title.

Berwick Bank, a 4.1GW fixed-foundation scheme planned for the outer Firth of Forth, will be the UK’s biggest offshore wind farm if it gets the go-ahead.