Moray East

Moray East Offshore Wind Farm Profile

Location

The Moray East Offshore Wind Farm is located approximately 22 kilometers off the coast of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, in the Moray Firth.

Ownership and Management

The wind farm is managed by Ocean Winds, a joint venture between ENGIE (23.3% ownership), EDP Renewables (33.3% ownership), Diamond Green Limited (33.4% ownership), and China Three Gorges (10% ownership).

Capacity and Turbines

The Moray East wind farm consists of 100 MHI Vestas V164-9.5MW offshore wind turbines, each with a rated capacity of 9.5MW. This configuration provides a total generating capacity of 950MW.

Turbine Specifications

• Each turbine has a hub height of 105 meters and a maximum blade-tip height of 187 meters.
• The turbine blades are 80 meters long and weigh 35 tons.
• The nacelle of the turbine is 20 meters long and 8 meters wide, weighing 390 tons.

Infrastructure

• The wind farm uses three offshore substations and three 220 kV AC export cables to transmit the generated power to the national grid.
• The power is collected via buried inter-array cables and stepped up in voltage at the offshore substations before being exported onshore via the export cables.
• Onshore, the cables are connected to a new substation south of New Deer, Aberdeenshire, which further regulates the voltage to transmission level and transmits the electricity onto the National Grid network.

Onshore Works

• The onshore works include the installation of three cable circuits from the coast between Banff and Whitehills to the new substation at New Deer.
• The cables are installed underground to minimize environmental impact, with a total route of 33 kilometers.
• The substation site at New Deer involves significant engineering works, including road improvements, earthworks, and the establishment of temporary storage compounds and site offices.

Operations and Maintenance

• The operations and maintenance base for the wind farm is located in Fraserburgh Harbour, Aberdeenshire.
• The base includes a two-storey operations and maintenance building, a berthing facility for support vessels, and storage and unloading areas. Other facilities include a marine coordination centre, maintenance workshops, administration offices, and a control room.

Environmental Impact and Monitoring

• The project includes a Project Environmental Monitoring Programme (PEMP) to monitor the environmental effects of the wind farm.
• Pre-construction and post-construction geophysical surveys, seabed sampling, and video surveillance were conducted to assess the seabed habitat and marine life.
• The monitoring program is part of the Moray Firth tracking project, which identified various marine species in the area.

Licensing and Consent

• The wind farm received consent from the Scottish Government in 2014 for the construction and operation of the offshore wind farm.
• Additional marine licenses were granted in 2014 for the construction and operation of substation platforms, generating stations, and offshore transmission infrastructure.
• Further license variations were approved in 2019 and 2020 for modified offshore transmission infrastructure and other related works.

Project Timeline

• 2014: Consent granted by the Scottish Government.
• 2017: Contract for Difference (CfD) awarded at £57.50/MWh.
• December 2018: Construction commenced.
• June 2021: Wind farm began exporting power.
• September 2021: Final turbine installed.
• April 2022: Full power output achieved.

Economic and Environmental Benefits

• The wind farm is expected to power approximately one million homes in the UK.
• It will save around 1.7 million tonnes of CO2 emissions every year, contributing significantly to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
• The project involves an estimated investment of £2.6 billion and is expected to fulfill about 40% of Scotland's total electricity demand.

Contractors Involved

• Siemens: Lead contractor for onshore works and offshore substation platform topsides.
• JGC Engineering and Technical Services: Supply chain partner for high-voltage transmission equipment.
• MHI Vestas Offshore Wind: Supplier and installer of the wind turbines.
• GeoSea (DEME): Contractor for the supply and installation of turbine and substation foundations.