The developer of the £2 billion Beatrice offshore wind farm in the Moray
Firth has announced that it expects the turbines to generate
first-electricity in Summer 2018.
In the past twelve months, the Beatrice project team has installed all
offshore pile clusters, over a third of jacket substructures and more than
40 miles of subsea cabling.
Onshore in Blackhillock, the team working on the SSE substation have moved
from the civil construction phase to the installation of the electrical and
mechanical infrastructure which will form the two circuits of the wind farm
transmission system.
And further up the coast in Wick, construction teams have completed the
first phase of the renovation works and began to re-work the disused corner
of the harbour in readiness for the arrival of the crew transfer boats
which will service the operational wind farm for the next 25 years.
The team is now focussed on preparing for what will be the biggest
milestone of 2018 – the first generation of renewable electricity from the
wind farm.
Expected in July 2018, the generation of first electricity is the fruition
of the hard work of thousands of people and many thousands of man hours and
is the first step on the wind farms final journey towards completion in 2019.
But, there remains a lot to do before then; commissioning the Blackhillock
substation, completing the subsea and onshore cabling, energising the
transmission system, completing jacket installation and erecting the first
of the 84 turbines.
Steve Wilson, Project Manager, Beatrice Offshore Windfarm, said: “It’s safe
to say that the Beatrice project has come a long way since reaching final
investment decision in May 2016.
“Whilst the foundations for the successful delivery of the project were
laid in 2016, 2017 was the year that the project really started to ‘come to
life’ in the Moray Firth.
“It’s exciting to think that we will be working on our 84 turbine offshore
wind farm in buildings in Wick that were originally developed in 1807 by
renowned Scottish engineer Thomas Telford.
“Telford created a lasting legacy with his works and, whilst we could never
compete with his achievements, Beatrice will deliver a lasting legacy for
the communities close to the wind farm and for the UK offshore renewables
industry.”
Beatrice is a joint venture between Perth-based utility SSE (40%),
Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (35%) and China’s Red Rock Power Ltd (25%).
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