Highland port reveals major 'monopile' deal for multimillion-pound Moray West offshore wind farm
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THE Port of Cromarty Firth in Invergordon has been selected by Moray West as the location for marshalling of all 62 monopiles prior to installation of the offshore wind farm.
Ocean Winds, created as a 50-50 joint venture, owned by EDP Renewables and ENGIE, is developing the Moray West project.
Moray West has signed a multi-million pound contract with Port of Cromarty Firth (POCF) to use the recently expanded facilities at Invergordon for this scope.
The monopiles will be some of the largest used in the sector to date with weights up to just under 2000 tonnes. Offloading the monopiles from delivery vessels will be done using self-propelled modular transporters.
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The monopiles will start to arrive in Invergordon in the second quarter of this year with installation complete approximately one year later.
The agreement to host Moray West will contribute to the pipeline of offshore wind projects using POCF facilities in the Cromarty Firth.
With two new berths and a 372-metre quayside, POCF’s Quay West development has one of the largest port laydown facilities of its kind in the UK, at more than 90,000sqm. The £50 million facility was officially opened by HRH Princess Anne in the summer of 2021.
Net Zero &Energy Secretary Michael Matheson said: “The Scottish Government’s draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan, published earlier this month, sets out a clear vision for the acceleration of offshore wind as we ramp up our renewable energy generation capabilities and realise the economic benefits of the energy transition.
“This agreement between Ocean Winds and Port of Cromarty Firth is another example of the tangible benefits being delivered for the benefit of Scotland’s wider supply chain and local economies, and I look forward to the partnership bringing new opportunities for people and businesses in the local community and beyond as the Moray West project is developed.”
EPC Director for Ocean Winds in the UK with responsibility for Moray West, Pete Geddes, said: “We are delighted that Invergordon is lined up to host the Moray West monopiles, utilising the newly created capacity at the port and providing key confidence to underpin further investments to support the growing sector. The ambitious delivery programme will mean that in less than a year Invergordon will play a key role in the offshore construction phase of Moray West.
"Having suitable facilities to secure the Moray West work has underlined the value of earlier investments in Invergordon, supported by Ocean Winds, and the ongoing need to invest in quayside infrastructure to support the growth of the sector. The recent successes in the ScotWind leasing round means that Ocean Winds will make significant early investments to drive the next steps necessary to build capability and capacity in Scottish ports and wider supply chain.”
Bob Buskie, CEO of POCF said: “This is a very significant contract both for us and the supply chain in the area and we are delighted Ocean Winds has chosen Port of Cromarty Firth as the marshalling base for this project. It will be the first scope of work of this scale using the whole of the Port’s extensive new Quay West facility. Our key role in this project is further evidence of Port of Cromarty Firth’s capabilities in this sector and will showcase the potential of our facilities for future projects.
"Ocean Winds, who we worked with on the Moray East Offshore Wind Farm development, is a valued customer and we look forward to continuing to support them on their second project in the Moray Firth.”
Need to know more?
Moray Offshore Windfarm (West) Limited, known as Moray West, is a fully consented offshore wind project off the coast of Scotland. The project has secured a Corporate Power Purchase Agreement (CPPA) for a significant proportion of its output and a CfD for 294 MW from AR4.
The development of Moray West follows on from the delivery of the adjacent Moray East offshore wind farm, which is now fully operational with 100 x 9.5MW wind turbines.
Project history:
2010 – Development of Zone 1 the Moray Firth commenced when development rights were won in the UK’s 3rd round of offshore wind licensing. The zone was split into two, to enable Moray East to be developed ahead of Moray West, as there were constraints in the west of the zone. Constraints in the west eased, and development of Moray West commenced in 2016.
2018-19 – Planning consents secured from Scottish Government, Moray Council and Aberdeenshire Council.
2022 –Construction works commence onshore, announcement of large CPPA, success in AR4 of CfD, contracts concluded.
Project statistics
Size: Installed capacity of 882MW from 60 x SG 14-222 DD wind turbines to be supplied by Siemens Gamesa. Two additional monopiles will support the offshore substations.
Location: Moray Firth, Scotland, over 22km from the coastline
Project ownership & Ocean Winds
The Moray West project is being developed by Ocean Winds. Ignitis Group has a minor shareholding.
Oceans Wind (OW) is an international company dedicated to offshore wind energy and created as a 50-50 joint venture, owned by EDP Renewables and ENGIE. Based on our belief that offshore wind energy is an essential part of the global energy transition, we develop, finance, build and operate offshore wind farm projects all around the world.
When EDPR and ENGIE combined their offshore wind assets and project pipeline to create OW in 2019, the company had a total of 1.5 GW under construction and 4.0 GW under development. OW has been adding rapidly to that portfolio and is now on a trajectory to reach the 2025 target of 5 to 7 GW of projects in operation, or construction, and 5 to 10 GW under advanced development.
Currently, OW’s offshore wind gross capacity already operating, in construction or with advanced development rights granted has reached 16.6 GW.
In the United-Kingdom, OW is also the majority shareholder of Moray East, Scotland’s largest offshore wind farm.
During the ScotWind process, OW has been awarded exclusive rights by Crown Estate Scotland to develop three projects:
An offshore wind project featuring fixed and floating foundations, targeting a capacity of 2 GW, named Caledonia, adjacent to the existing Moray East and Moray West seabed lease
area.
A floating offshore wind project east of Shetland of 1.8 GW capacity, named Arven, in parternership with Mainstream Renewable Power.
A floating offshore project also east of Shetland of 500 MW.
