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A significant step has been taken for the Moray East Offshore Wind Farm with installation of the final (100^th) turbine. Scotland’s largest wind farm to date the Moray farm will generate 950MW through 100 9.5MW Vestas turbines. Located 22km from the coast in the Moray Firth, north-east Scotland, the farm is a joint venture between Diamond Green Limited, EDPR, ENGIE and CTG.

First power was provided to the Scottish National Grid in June and full power is expected before the end of the year. The Moray East Project Director, Enrique Alvarez, said, “In the face of unprecedented global conditions we have safely completed the installation of 100 turbines within the challenging timescale of a single season, and I would like to thank and congratulate all those involved in achieving this milestone safely.… Now we turn to the task of commissioning the turbines and bringing the windfarm up to its full generating capacity – ultimately enough to meet ca. 40 per cent of Scotland’s domestic electricity needs.”

The offshore wind industry has seen a spate of strategic partnerships in recent times. The latest sees Harland & Wolff, the Belfast based shipyard, sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Navantia and Windar Renovables, the Spanish-based foundation manufacturers. Since Navantia and Windar established their cooperation in 2015, they have successfully produced over 100 jacket foundations for seven different farms, and five floating foundations for the Kincardine floating farm in Scotland.

The MoU will see the partners identifying specific opportunities for wind projects within the UK. John Wood, Harland & Wolff CEO, said “Through this strategic partnership, we will be able to strengthen the scale and footprint of a combined multi-site offering which will de-risk customer schedules, drive more innovation and efficiency and enable projects to be monetised quicker.”

The UK government is continuing its support for the offshore wind industry with an additional 265 million pounds through its latest Contracts for Difference (CfD) allocation round (AR4). The money, most of which is earmarked for fixed and floating offshore wind, is designed to help the government meet its target of doubling the renewable electricity capacity secured in the previous auction round (AR3) and ensure the UK is on track for 40GW of offshore wind by 2030.

The UK authorities are also increasing their support of UK companies abroad with the commissioning of a study to analyse opportunities in the US. The British Consulate-General in Boston has commissioned Xodus, the international energy consultants, to examine the fledgling US offshore wind market with an eye to identifying opportunities for British businesses. Dr. Peter Abbott OBE, the Consul General to New England, said, “With the largest amount of installed offshore wind capacity anywhere in the world, the UK is a global leader in offshore wind and our private and public sector expertise is therefore uniquely equipped to play a vital role in the US.”

Xodus expects up to 80 billion USD in CAPEX expenditure in the US by 2030 with a potential for 80,000 jobs and that with the Vineyard Wind I project receiving approval, further offshore wind farm decisions will be accelerated.