Moray West

Moray West Offshore Wind Farm Profile

Location and Site Details

The Moray West offshore wind farm is located on the Smith Bank in the Outer Moray Firth, approximately 22.5 km southeast of the Caithness coastline, Scotland, UK. The wind farm will occupy a total area of approximately 225 km², with water depths ranging from 35 to 54 meters.

Project Ownership and Development

The Moray West offshore wind farm is being developed by Moray Offshore Windfarm (West) and is owned by Ocean Winds, a 50-50 joint venture between EDP Renewables (EDPR) and ENGIE. A small minority stake is held by UAB Ignitis renewables.

Capacity and Turbines

The wind farm will have an installed capacity of 860 MW (or approximately 882 MW as per some sources), generated by 60 Siemens Gamesa SG 14-222 DD offshore wind turbines. Each turbine has a capacity of 14.7 MW and a rotor diameter of 222 meters, with a swept area of 39,000 m². The turbines will be equipped with 108-meter-long IntegralBlades.

Infrastructure and Construction

• Foundations and Substructures: The project involves the installation of seabed foundations, including monopile foundations weighing up to 2,000 tons each. Boskalis is responsible for transporting and installing these monopiles, as well as conducting seabed preparation activities.
• Cabling: The wind farm will include approximately 275 km of inter-array cables, and an offshore export cable corridor. The offshore export cable will come ashore to the east of Sandend Bay on the Aberdeenshire Coast, approximately 65 km south of the Moray West site. From there, the cables will run for 31 km to the onshore substation at Whitehillock.
• Substations: The project includes two offshore substation platforms and a new onshore substation at Whitehillock near Keith in Moray. The Whitehillock substation will be connected to the Blackhillock substation outside Keith through underground cables.

Transmission Infrastructure

• Export Cables: The power generated will be transmitted to the shore through an offshore export cable corridor. The underground export cable corridor will have a total length of approximately 91 km, with a 65 km-long offshore section and 31 km onshore.
• Grid Connection: The electricity will be evacuated into the National Electricity Transmission System (NETS) through a 400 kV existing substation at Blackhillock.

Environmental and Community Impact

• Environmental Assessments: GoBe Consultants was contracted to conduct the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the project, which included the development and implementation of a consent strategy and site selection for the onshore substation.
• Community Engagement: The project team is working closely with local communities, supply chains, and other stakeholders to ensure the success of the project with minimal disruption to local people.

Commercial and Regulatory Aspects

• Consents: All necessary marine and onshore consents were secured in early 2019. The development phase commenced in 2016 following the award of seabed rights from The Crown Estate.
• Financial Agreements: The project has secured a government Contract for Difference (CfD) and a Corporate Power Purchase Agreement, which have enabled the finalization of commercial and contract arrangements.
• Cost and Value: The project is part of the UK's efforts to achieve Net Zero carbon emissions, offering a low-cost, low-carbon supply of electricity. Recent UK government contracts for new offshore wind projects have been set at record low levels, such as £41/MWh, compared to £92/MWh for new nuclear projects.

Operational Details

• Expected Operational Date: The wind farm is expected to become fully operational in early 2025.
• Operational Life: The wind farm has an operational life of more than 25 years.
• Energy Output: The Moray West offshore wind farm is expected to generate enough electricity to power up to 640,000 homes and account for approximately 30% of Scotland’s electricity. It will offset around 1.1 million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually.

Contractors and Suppliers

• Siemens Gamesa: Contracted to supply the offshore wind turbines and provide a service agreement.
• Boskalis: Secured a multidisciplinary role in the development, including transporting and installing monopiles, seabed preparation, and installing substations.
• Lamprell: Signed a capacity reservation agreement with Ocean Winds to deliver transition pieces for the wind turbines and substations.
• Taylor Hopkinson: Contracted to provide freelance personnel for the project.

This project is a significant step in Scotland's and the UK's transition to renewable energy, contributing to the reduction of carbon emissions and meeting climate change targets.