Moray West wind farm blades ‘bigger than Wembley pitch’ installed off Caithness coast
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Wind turbine blades longer than the Wembley Stadium pitch have begun to be put in place as part of an offshore wind farm off the Caithness coast.
Moray West, an offshore wind farm in the outer Moray Firth close to the existing Beatrice site, has installed the first of 60 Siemens Gamesa SG 14-222 DD turbines.
Each turbine can generate up to 14.7 MW output and reaches up to 285m to its blade tip. The full scheme will be capable of producing up to 882MW when it is fully operational early next year.
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.
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.
The facility has recently doubled in size to support the production of these B108 blades and employs over 1000 people.
When installed they will be the longest in UK waters.
The 108m long blades are the largest being made in the UK, even longer than the Wembley Stadium football pitch, and are built to withstand exceedingly strong wind forces in a demanding offshore environment.
Project director for Moray West, Pete Geddes said: “This is a fantastic achievement, which is the result of the collective efforts of an incredible team of skilled professionals. The Moray West team can feel really proud of this huge milestone. Many congratulations to SGRE on this achievement as well, who have done an excellent job throughout the execution phase.
“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 are being fabricated in Siemens Gamesa’s recently expanded facility in Hull and all the components are 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.”
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.”
The Moray West wind farm is expected to have a lifespan of 25 years and will connect to the national grid via export cables to the Aberdeenshire coast and inland to the onshore substation at Whitehillock by the A96 and on to the connection point with the grid at the Blackhillock substation outside Keith.
