The first generation of renewable electricity from the SSE-led 588MW Beatrice offshore wind farm in Scotland is expected in July this year.
Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Limited project manager Steve Wilson said: “It is safe to say that the Beatrice project has come a long way since reaching final investment decision in May 2016.”
He added: “While 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.”
The Beatrice team is now focused on preparing for what will be “the biggest milestone of 2018” which will be the first generation of renewable electricity from the project.
“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,” Wilson said.
“The fabrication and manufacturing facilities servicing the project will continue to play an important role as they work to complete the manufacture of the main infrastructure components.”
This year the Beatrice team will also move into their home for the next 25 years, the Wick Operations and Maintenance base.
“It is exciting to think that we will be working on our 84-turbine offshore wind farm in buildings that were originally developed in 1807 by renowned Scottish engineer Thomas Telford,” he added.
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