Passed by thousands of motorists a day, turbine towers at the Port of Dundee have become a familiar sight – and they won’t be leaving dry land any time soon.
Delays in the construction phase for the Neart Na Gaoithe (NnG) offshore wind farm means the vessel used to transport the turbine towers, blades and nacelles to the North Sea has moved to another job.
And NnG managers do not know when they will be able to find another specialist vessel to carry out the work.
It means the completion date for the £1.8 billion project – which was initially meant to be 2023 and has more recently been given as 2024 – is now unknown.
What has caused NnG wind farm delays?
Since May last year the turbine towers have been assembled at the port’s new renewables quayside, which was part of a £40 million investment.
The towers are assembled in three sections, each nearly 100ft long, for a total height similar to the Statue of Liberty.
Since work began, 35 turbines have been taken to sea by the Blue Tern – a self-propelled jack-up offshore wind turbine construction vessel owned by Norwegian firm Fred Olsen Windcarrier.
19 turbines are still to be installed at the 40 square mile site, around 10 miles off the Fife coast.
A total of 12 turbine towers currently stand erect and ready to leave the Port of Dundee, but NnG does not know when this will be possible.
A spokesman said the issues relate to delays encountered at the end of last year.
“The bad weather we experienced in the UK in late 2023 and some technical issues led to delays in the construction phase of the NnG offshore wind farm,” the spokesman said.
“The construction vessel being used for this phase of the project has now moved on to another project.
“We are currently in discussions with suppliers to secure another vessel and dates have yet to be confirmed.”
Work continues offshore
The 54 turbines on the NnG project will have production capacity of 450 megawatts, enough to power 375,000 homes.
NnG, which is jointly owned by EDF Renewables and Irish energy company ESB, said work is continuing offshore to connect turbines already in the North Sea to the grid.
The spokesman added: “Development of the wind farm continues apace with commissioning work on site.
“We are currently preparing for first power from the wind farm – meaning clean, green energy will be transmitted to the grid from NnG for the first time.”
Forth Ports, which operates the Port of Dundee, and Fred Olsen Windcarrier declined to comment.
