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SSE has welcomed a key milestone in the delivery of what will be Scotland's largest offshore wind farm, as the first jackets arrived for the massive 114 wind turbine site.
The jackets, which will act as bases for the turbines, were delivered to the Port of Nigg in the Cromarty Firth, where they'll be kept before being installed 27km off the Angus coast in the North Sea.
The components were welcomed to the Global Energy Group facility by project owners TotalEnergies and SSE Renewables, part of SSE Plc, along with main contractor Seaway 7.
The installation of the jackets will get underway in October, once complete the 114 Vestas V164-10 MW turbines, which will power the huge 1.1GW Seagreen project, will be positioned on each of the turbine bases.
Work to install the jackets will last around 12 months and support up to 141 skilled jobs – associated with the marshalling, storage, and logistics for the foundation components – at the Port of Nigg.
The jobs include work for 93 permanent roles already on-site as well as an additional 48 new roles which have been created at the port to support the Seagreen project, delivering a green jobs boost to the Scottish Highlands.
SSE Renewables is leading the development and construction of the joint venture project, supported by TotalEnergies, and will operate Seagreen on completion. When complete in 2023, the 1.1GW Seagreen Offshore Wind Farm will be Scotland's largest, and the world's deepest, fixed-bottom offshore wind farm.
Paul Cooley, Director of Capital Projects at SSE Renewables said: "This is a landmark occasion and a fantastic opportunity to draw attention to not only the progress that the Seagreen project is making but also the benefits that Scotland's largest wind farm is bringing to Scotland's economy and supply chain.
"At SSE Renewables we're proud to be leading the construction of Seagreen and the benefits it is bringing to Scotland. The jobs boost at Port of Nigg associated with the installation of Seagreen's foundations is great for the local area and the Highlands as a whole and builds on our excellent track record at SSE Renewables of supply chain support in Scotland."
Steve Rose, Director of HSE at TotalEnergies E&P UK said: "We're delighted that the Seagreen project has reached this milestone. To see these jackets ready to be installed and become part of Scotland's largest wind farm is a real thrill.
"The Seagreen offshore wind farm shows TotalEnergies' ambition to accelerate its transition to a broad energy company. We've been investing in Scotland for fifty years and offshore wind projects such as Seagreen shows how this relationship is beginning an exciting new chapter."
Also on hand to welcome the jackets was Lloyd Duthie, Managing Director for EPCI Projects at Seaway 7. Seaway 7 is managing the engineering, procurement, construction, and installation of Seagreen's 114 wind turbine generator foundations and approximately 300km of associated inter-array cables.
Mr Duthie said: "Today is a significant milestone for everyone involved in constructing Seagreen, as well as Scotland's communities, who will benefit from its renewable energy. Seaway 7 has been active in the UK Renewables sector for over a decade and are pleased to continue supporting the ongoing energy transition in Scotland from our office in Aberdeen."
Chief Operating Officer for Global Energy Group, Ian Cobban said: "We are delighted to welcome the jackets for the Seagreen project to our Port of Nigg facility. We are in the process of constructing an impressive, dedicated ring crane on our quayside to enable the loadout of these structures, supported by our onsite logistics and vessel support teams. The Seagreen jackets mark the 3rd project of this kind to be carried out from the Port of Nigg, highlighting our continued focus on developing the site to support the future of the UK Offshore wind market. We look forward to working closely with all parties in the successful execution of the storage, marshalling and loadout of the jackets before their onward journey to the field."
