World’s Deepest Offshore Wind Turbine Foundation Installed in Scotland

Scotland’s largest offshore wind farm, Seagreen, has achieved a significant milestone with the installation of the world’s deepest wind turbine foundation off the coast of Angus.

The installation of the foundation, also known as a jacket, at a depth of 58.6 meters marks the 112th jacket installed at the wind farm, which is a joint venture between SSE Renewables and TotalEnergies. The previous record was set at the same wind farm project in October 2022, when a foundation was installed at a depth of 57.4 meters.

The jacket was transported to the project site on a barge operated by main contractor Seaway 7 and lifted into place by the semisubmersible crane vessel Saipem 7000. The final wind turbine foundation is expected to be installed later this week.

The 1.1GW wind farm will feature 114 Vestas V164-10 MW wind turbines and will generate enough electricity to power more than 1.6m UK homes. First power was achieved in August 2022 and the wind farm is expected to enter commercial operation later this year.

The project is part of SSE’s £12.5 billion Net Zero Acceleration Plan, which includes investing £7 million a day in low-carbon infrastructure to help the UK achieve energy independence. The company plans to invest over £24 billion in Britain alone by the end of the decade.

Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy Neil Gray said that offshore wind power will play a key role in Scotland’s energy transition, and the Scottish Government will continue to support the sector to deliver innovative, landmark projects. “We already know that Scotland has the skills, innovation and natural resources to be a true world-leader in offshore wind technology – from ScotWind, to INTOG, to the spectacular Seagreen installation,” said Gray.

Alistair Phillips-Davies, Chief Executive of SSE plc, said that the Seagreen wind farm shows how the company continues to innovate and push the boundaries of technology to power change.

“This is not only a significant step on the road to project completion but also shows how we continue to innovate and push the boundaries of technology to power change. Everyone involved in the project can be very proud of their contribution,” Phillips-Davies said.

“Thanks to a strong and stable policy framework, the UK has established itself as the world leader on offshore wind and SSE Renewables is building more offshore wind than anyone on the planet. But we want to do more and now is the time to accelerate if we are to achieve the UK’s target of 50GW of offshore wind by 2030,” he added.