The world’s deepest wind turbine foundation has been installed at Seagreen, the £3 billion wind farm off the Angus coast.
The foundation was transported to the Seagreen site on a barge by main contractor Seaway 7.
There it was met by the Saipem 7000 – the semi-submersible crane vessel which is used to lift each of the 2,000-tonne turbine foundations into place.
The installation means Seagreen has now topped its own record from October 2022. A previous foundation was installed at a depth of 57.4 metres.
The deepest foundation, otherwise known as a jacket, has been installed at a depth of 58.6 metres.
It also marks the installation of the 112th jacket out of 114 at Seagreen.
The final wind turbine foundation is expected to be installed later this week.
‘Seagreen is making history’
Minister of state for energy, security and net zero Graham Stuart said: “This is another terrific milestone for both Scotland and the UK’s world-leading offshore wind industry.
“Seagreen is making history with the world’s deepest wind turbine foundation which, once operational, will play an invaluable role in powering more of Britain from Britain.”
The £3bn project is a joint venture between SSE Renewables and TotalEnergies.
SSE chief executive Alistair Phillips-Davies said the completion of Seagreen is an important part of the firm’s £12.5bn net zero acceleration plan.
He added: “This is not only a significant step on the road to project completion but also shows how we continue to innovate and push the boundaries of technology to power change.”
Angus wind farm ‘boosts UK’s energy security’
John Hill, Seagreen project director, praised the work of the 50-plus people involved in the installation of the jacket.
He said: “Our ability to install jackets at this depth, in what is a challenging geographical area, boosts the UK’s energy security and means consumers can benefit from the strong winds available far out in the North Sea.”
Each foundation will support a Vestas V164-10 MW turbine. First power was achieved in August 2022 with the offshore wind farm expected to enter commercial operation later this year.
When complete, the 1.1GW wind farm will be capable of generating around 5,000 GWh of renewable energy annually. That is enough to power more than 1.6m UK homes.
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