The operations and maintenance (O&M) base for the 450 MW Neart na Gaoithe (NnG) wind farm offshore Scotland has officially been opened.
The NnG O&M base, located in Eyemouth, Berwickshire, includes a 1,040-square-metre, three-story operations and maintenance building, alongside a 538-square-metre storage warehouse.
The base houses a high-tech control room with staff from NnG and its subcontractor Siemens Gamesa, from which the offshore wind farm operation will be monitored when it is commissioned in 2024.
It will monitor its low carbon electricity output, wind speed, turbine performance, and all radio communications.
The control room team will also monitor and control the movement of wind farm vessels into and out of Eyemouth Harbour and the site of the wind farm itself, which is located 15.5 kilometres off the coast of Fife.
The O&M base is also large enough to handle the increase in staffing levels in the summer months when wind farm maintenance will increase due to calmer weather and lower wind speeds, NnG said. This uptick in staffing is expected to bring additional economic benefits to the surrounding area.
The facility will bring up to 50 high-quality jobs to Eyemouth Harbour for the 25-year lifespan of the Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind farm.
Offshore construction at the project site offshore Scotland is well underway, with the first ten wind turbine jacket foundations in place and the installation of the remaining piles resuming at wind turbine locations.
The 450 MW wind farm, jointly owned by EDF Renewables and ESB, will comprise 54 Siemens Gamesa 8 MW wind turbines, with the first units planned to be operational in mid-2023.
Once fully commissioned, the offshore wind farm will supply enough electricity for around 375,000 homes and offset over 400,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year.