MORAY EAST OFFSHORE WIND FARM: Full Steam Ahead for Scotland’s Wind Powerhouse
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One of very few large scale wind farms in Scotland, Moray East offshore wind farm has capacity to power one million homes throughout the UK and provide some 40% of Scotland’s electricity. The completion of turbine installation followed first power last year, now reaching full output of its low-cost, low-carbon energy, reliably produced entirely from the copious indigenous resources around it.
Scotland has a phenomenal offshore wind resource, and its inherent ambition, experience and commitment puts it in contention to become one of the global leaders in offshore wind. The benefits to this are of course multiple, delivering investment and creating jobs while keeping energy supplies secure and tackling climate change. Offshore wind farms also have the advantage of accessing higher wind speeds, and mitigating the usual disturbance regularly cited as the main concern regarding wind turbines.
“By working in deeper water, we can build larger wind turbines in the open water farther from shore, where the wind is plentiful,” summarises Moray Offshore Renewable Power.
Often referred to as ‘the windbreak of Europe,’ with the world’s interest in, and need of, renewable energy higher than ever before, in Scotland boundaries are being swept aside in its technological and scientific development. In 2020 the country’s world-leading sector exported a record £745 million worth of electricity making Scotland a veritable global wind energy powerhouse harbouring deep water innovation in offshore wind floating concepts, cabling expertise and specialists in blade manufacturing.
“This means [Scottish] businesses are constantly innovating, breaking down technological and scientific barriers, to ensure the large-scale adoption of wind as an affordable, even cheaper energy alternative to fossil-fuels,” says Scottish Development International. This pioneering strategy has resulted in 3.5GW of offshore wind already operational or under construction, with a further 6.4GW in the pipeline in the ambitious, attainable aim to see 50% of Scotland’s total energy demand supplied by renewable sources by 2030.
MAJOR INSTALLATION MILESTONE
There is more offshore wind energy innovation underway in Scotland today than ever before, and if the country is to continue to excel in wind services, it will be with the 950MW Moray East wind farm, one of the largest in the world, firmly at the centre of operations. Alone it is on course to furnish 40% of Scotland’s entire electricity needs, with the potential to power in excess of a million UK homes.
“Millions of tonnes of CO2 can be saved over the lifetime of our offshore wind farm,” explains Moray Offshore Renewable Power. “The Moray East wind farm will join one of very few, large scale wind farms in Scotland, and will save a large amount of CO2 from entering the atmosphere every year when compared to gas fired power plants.”
The cost reduction agenda for energy has never been more vital, nor relevant, and here too is the Moray East offshore wind farm poised to contribute. It will generate power at £57.50/MWhr – or 5.75p/kWhr – less than half the price of power generated by offshore wind farms under construction today having successfully entered the UK’s second ‘Contract for Difference’ (CfD) auction in 2017.
“Moray East represents a step-change in the delivery of renewable power in terms of cost and scale,” the company asserts. “The project will provide an abundant supply of low-carbon electricity at a highly competitive price. Since Moray East uses the UK’s own indigenous renewable natural resource of wind, the power generated does not depend on the import fossil fuels such as coal or gas, of thus improving the UK’s security of supply as well as driving down costs for consumers.”
From first to last installation at the site took exactly eight months, with number 100 of its Vestas V164-9.5 MW turbines safely instated on 15 September 2021. “Vestas is proud to have completed delivery and installation of the 100 V164-9.5 MW turbines to the Moray East project, which is a significant step in the right direction of the decarbonisation of Scotland’s energy mix,” enthused Vestas Project Director Allan Birk Wisby. “Amidst the challenges of Covid-19, the Vestas and Moray East teams have collaborated tremendously well, installing some of the most powerful turbines in the world safely and on schedule.”
Project Director Enrique Alvarez, meanwhile, spoke of the transformative impact sparked by the incredible 295km2, 22 kilometres from shore at its closest. “Just a decade ago, commercial-scale offshore wind generation in water depths of 50m and more was a vision. We have not only turned that into a reality, but are generating power at less than half the cost of earlier wind farms in shallow water, close to shore.”
FROM FIRST TO FULL POWER
Even while construction was ongoing, the engineering methodology used enabled power to be exported to the National Gird before all turbines were established, for use by homes and industry across the UK. “First Generation is a long awaited and hard earned milestone for the project,” attested Moray East Project Director Marcel Sunier. “Our 950MW wind farm marks a key milestone in the global development of the offshore wind industry.
“Its unique engineering, cutting edge technology and location have reduced the cost of renewable power by two thirds in comparison with most offshore wind farms built to date in the UK. Moray East offers the low-cost, low-carbon power which will be essential to fuelling economic recovery from Covid and for a sustainable future for all of us and generations to come.”
The electrical power generated by the wind turbines is collected offshore via buried inter-array cables, to three offshore substations where the electricity is stepped up in voltage. It is then exported onshore via three export cables, and enters the substation of New Deer to further regulate the voltage to transmission level.
Beginning generation with its just its first few turbines online, focus then flipped to the vital commissioning work to unlock the project’s full potential output of 950MW. As more turbines were installed, so could more be commissioned and output of green energy gradually increase, culminating in April in its full contracted output of 900MW to the UK National Transmission Grid being achieved.
In total, 1,415,000 MWh has been fed into the grid since first power, enough to meet the total annual electricity needs of all households in Aberdeen and Edinburgh. “Offshore wind has a unique advantage; we don’t have to wait until work has finished to switch on,” closed Enrique Alvarez. “Output can start after the first few turbines have been commissioned and increase incrementally as work progresses.
“While construction was underway, between starting our first turbine and finishing the wind farm, we supplied enough electricity to meet the annual needs of every household in Edinburgh and Aberdeen – with enough left over for most of Moray as well. This, of course, is our output from a fraction of a year with a fraction of our turbines.
“I am delighted to announce that Moray East has now achieved its full contracted output of 900 MW. The UK urgently needs new low-cost, low-carbon generation, and lots of it; offshore wind is the quickest, cheapest way to provide it.”