Offshore construction has officially commenced on ScottishPower's largest-ever renewables venture with the successful installation of the first foundation at the £4 billion East Anglia THREE offshore wind farm.

The installed monopile, standing at an impressive 83.89 metres tall, with a diameter of 10.6 metres and weighing 1,800 tonnes, has set a new European offshore wind industry record. It is the largest monopile to date to be installed using a jack-up vessel in the region.

Charlie Jordan, ScottishPower Renewables Chief Executive Officer, hailed the milestone: "The installation of our first East Anglia THREE foundation is a real wow moment for both ScottishPower and Iberdrola. It represents a mammoth feat of engineering, skill and a huge amount of work. We're talking an incredible 1800 tonnes of steel, safely and securely lifted and then precisely placed in the exact spot in an area the size of almost 43,000 football pitches. We've never built anything of this scale before! East Anglia THREE will be the biggest-ever windfarm across the whole of the Iberdrola group and the second largest in the world when it comes into operation. To visibly see it starting to take shape in the North Sea is a real milestone moment and definitely something to be proud of. This project is a fantastic example of how we're generating more secure, green electricity for the UK; investing in the country's clean energy future; and supporting jobs and opportunities for decades to come."

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The record-breaking monopile was manufactured by the Joint Venture Navantia Seanergies Windar Renovables (JVNW) and installed by the Seaway Ventus jack-up installation vessel. It is the first of 95 monopiles that will form the foundations for the 1.4GW wind farm, the largest in both the ScottishPower and Iberdrola portfolios. JVNW is responsible for fabricating 45 of these foundations, with the remaining 50 being manufactured by Haizea.

Each of the 95 monopiles will vary in size, ranging from 67 to 85 metres in length and up to 10.6 metres in diameter, with weights between 1,200 and 1,800 tonnes. These massive structures will support 95 Siemens Gamesa turbines, each with a capacity of 14.7MW, collectively generating 1400MW of clean energy – enough to power the equivalent of over 1.3 million homes.

The first of the 95 transition pieces, manufactured by Windar Renovables, has also been successfully installed. These structures stand 20 metres tall, have a diameter of 8 metres, and weigh over 400 tonnes each.

Seaway7 is undertaking the installation of all the East Anglia THREE monopiles and transition pieces. The Seaway Ventus jack-up vessel has been equipped with custom-built mission equipment, designed, fabricated, and installed in under two years to meet the project's demanding schedule and performance requirements.

Lloyd Duthie, Seaway7 Vice President UK, Ireland & Asia, commented: "We are proud to have successfully installed the first foundation for East Anglia Three. This achievement comes after two years of preparation, resulting in Seaway Ventus installing the largest monopile from a jack-up vessel in Europe. It really is testament to the scale of engineering that can be achieved together with partners across the supply chain. We look forward to progressing this significant multi-year construction project, encompassing foundation and inner-array cable installation, with ScottishPower Renewables to deliver a substantial contribution to the UK's renewable energy ambitions."

The full installation of all 95 turbines is anticipated to be completed by early 2026.