First of three substations put in place at Moray East offshore wind farm
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A MILESTONE has been reached in the Moray East offshore wind farm project.
The first of three substation platforms has been successfully installed at the site.
The development – about 14 miles off the east coast of Caithness – has 100 turbines and will generate enough power for some 950,000 homes, saving the equivalent of 1.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.
The 1200-tonne offshore substation platform (OSP) contains all the essential equipment, including transformers and switchgear, required to transmit electricity generated by a third of the turbines.
It will also increase voltage from 66 to 220 kilovolts so the energy can be delivered through an export cable to shore with maximum efficiency and minimum losses.
The OSP was installed on top of the three-legged jacket substructure which had previously been fastened to the seabed.
The substation was put in place using the jack-up vessel Scylla, which loaded the structure from Global Energy’s facility at Nigg in Easter Ross. The two other substations are due to be installed within the next couple of weeks.
The electricity will come ashore at Inverboyndie, and will then be routed via underground cables to the Moray East substation at New Deer from where the electricity is fed into the national grid.
Project director Marcel Sunier said: “The safe installation of our first offshore electrical infrastructure is a very significant milestone. A 1200-tonne precision lift is a major undertaking in any situation – and even more so in the challenging waters of the Moray Firth.
“I am looking forward to see the other two substation platforms being installed shortly.”
The wind farm is being developed by Moray Offshore Windfarm East Ltd (MOWEL), a joint venture company owned by Diamond Green Limited (33.4 per cent), Ocean Winds (56.6 per cent) and CTG (10 per cent).
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