Siemens Gamesa has chosen Port of Nigg in the Cromarty Firth, Scotland, as the planned location for pre-assembly and installation of wind turbines for the Moray West offshore wind farm.
Siemens Gamesa has signed a conditional agreement with Global Energy Group to use Nigg as the base for installation works.
Subject to award of a Contract for Difference in 2022 and financial close, the wind turbine components will be marshalled at Nigg prior to installation and commissioning through 2024.
Ocean Winds is developing the Moray West project and Siemens Gamesa is the preferred bidder for the supply of the offshore wind turbines.
If successful and converted to a firm order, the agreement to supply Moray West would contribute to the pipeline of offshore wind projects that have used Nigg including Moray East, a project in which Ocean Winds is also the majority stakeholder.
Moray West has a rapid deployment plan, which will mean an almost continuous use of Nigg for pre-assembly and installation campaigns for offshore wind energy projects from 2017 to 2024.
Project director for Moray West, Adam Morrison, said: “The decision to utilise Nigg follows three successful and safe large installation campaigns, including our sister project Moray East.
“Having suitable facilities to secure the Moray West work has underlined the value of earlier investments in Nigg and the ongoing need to invest in quayside infrastructure to support the growth of the sector.
“The recent success in the ScotWind leasing round means that Ocean Winds will make significant early investments to drive the next steps necessary to build capability and capacity in the Scottish supply chain.”
Tim Cornelius, CEO of Global Energy Group, added: “Our location coupled with existing laydown space and heavy load bearing capacity makes the Port of Nigg the ideal location to deliver large scale storage and marshalling for both fixed and floating offshore wind projects.
“We are committed to further capital investment in the development of the necessary infrastructure, facilities and land around the site to support the future increase in demand we expect to see from leading developers such as Ocean Winds.”