The first foundations for the 1100MW Seagreen project have arrived at Port of Nigg in Cromarty Firth, ahead of their upcoming installation 27km off the Scottish coast near Angus.
The delivery of the jackets kickstarts the upcoming campaign to install all 114 wind turbine foundations at the site off the Angus coast, beginning in October.
After jacket foundations are installed, Vestas V164-10 MW turbines will be positioned on each of the turbine bases.
The foundation installation campaign will last for a period of around 12 months and is supporting up to 141 skilled jobs at Port of Nigg associated with the marshalling, storage, and logistics for the foundation components.
The jobs include work for 93 permanent roles already on-site as well as an additional 48 new roles which have been created at the port to support the Seagreen project, delivering a green jobs boost to the Scottish Highlands.
SSE Renewables is leading the development and construction of the joint venture project, supported by TotalEnergies, and will operate Seagreen on completion.
When complete in 2023, the Seagreen Offshore Wind Farm will be Scotland’s largest, and the world’s deepest, fixed-bottom offshore wind farm.
SSE Renewables’ director of capital projects Paul Cooley said: “This is a landmark occasion and a fantastic opportunity to draw attention to not only the progress that the Seagreen project is making but also the benefits that Scotland’s largest wind farm is bringing to Scotland’s economy and supply chain.
“At SSE Renewables we’re proud to be leading the construction of Seagreen and the benefits it is bringing to Scotland.
“The jobs boost at Port of Nigg associated with the installation of Seagreen’s foundations is great for the local area and the Highlands as a whole and builds on our excellent track record at SSE Renewables of supply chain support in Scotland.”
TotalEnergies E&P UK director of HSE Steve Rose added: “We’re delighted that the Seagreen project has reached this milestone.
“To see these jackets ready to be installed and become part of Scotland’s largest wind farm is a real thrill.
“The Seagreen offshore wind farm shows TotalEnergies’ ambition to accelerate its transition to a broad energy company.
“We’ve been investing in Scotland for fifty years and offshore wind projects such as Seagreen shows how this relationship is beginning an exciting new chapter.”