VIDEO: Construction of £1.2bn Inch Cape windfarm is under way

The first piece of infrastructure has been installed on the site of a £1.2 billion windfarm off the Angus coast.

The Scottish Government last month awarded consent for the construction and operation of the Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm, situated in the outer Firth of Tay.

The windfarm has the potential to generate up to 784MW of renewable energy and bring significant economic opportunities through construction and operation.

A meteorological mast (met mast), which arrived from Spain, has been the first piece of infrastructure to be installed on site.

A spokeswoman for Inchcape said: “Once the met mast is fully erected, it will be 114m tall above the lowest astronomical tide.

“The met mast utilises innovative techniques in both its construction and its installation, which measures wind conditions to enable optimal planning and operation of the windfarms.”

The mast has a gravity base foundation, mainly made out of concrete.

This foundation type reduces the noise generated by the installation of the steel structures traditionally used and the associated negative impact on the marine fauna, especially on large mammals.