Vattenfall has installed the first MHI Vestas V164 turbine at the Aberdeen Bay offshore wind farm off the coast of Scotland, with individual capacity increased to 8.8MW from the 8.4MW originally planned.
The Swedish company said it is the first time an 8.8MW model has been deployed commercially in the offshore wind industry.
The turbine is the first of 11 to be installed at the project, which will now consist of two 8.8MW machines and nine 8.4MW units.
Overall capacity of Aberdeen Bay, which is also known as the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC), will increase to 93.2MW from 92.4MW previously.
The hardware will have tip heights of 191 metres and blades 80-metres long.
Swire Blue Ocean jack-up Pacific Orca is carrying out the installation work.
EOWDC project director at Vattenfall Adam Ezzamel said: “The first turbine installation is a significant achievement and credit to the diligence and engineering know-how of the project team and contractors.
“For it to be one of the 8.8MW models makes it an even more momentous moment because it further endorses the EOWDC as a world-class hub of offshore wind innovation.”
MHI Vestas chief operations officer Flemming Ougaard said: “We are very pleased to have installed the first of 11 turbines at Aberdeen Bay.”
Image: Vattenfall
Aberdeen toasts turbine first
By EBS