Moray West Inks Another Port of Nigg Deal

September 6, 2023, by Adnan Memija

Moray West has selected the Port of Nigg in the Cromarty Firth, Scotland, as the location for marshalling all 62 transition pieces (TPs) prior to installation as part of the 882 MW offshore wind farm.

Moray West has signed an agreement with Global Energy Group (GEG), which owns and operates the Port of Nigg, to use the port for this scope.

The TPs will start to arrive at the Port of Nigg later in 2023 with installation starting shortly afterwards and due for completion in 2024.

The agreement is in addition to the wind turbine marshalling and pre-assembly work that Siemens Gamesa has already announced for Nigg, plus the fabrication of J-tube frames as key elements of the foundation structures.

“We are delighted the Port of Nigg has been chosen to support the Moray West project and look forward to welcoming Ocean Winds back to our facility. Having previously supported the Ocean Winds team on their Moray East project, this contract, is a great endorsement of our close working relationship, the benefits of continuity and our ability to deliver offshore wind projects of scale,” said Iain Sinclair, Executive Director at GEG.

The TPs will be manufactured and delivered by Lamprell, under a contract signed with the wind farm’s developers Ocean Winds in September 2022.

The wind farm, owned by Ocean Winds and minority shareholder Ignitis Group, reached a financial close a few months ago, the first project to reach this milestone from the UK’s Contract for Difference (CfD) Allocation Round 4.

Moray West will be built some 22 kilometres off the Moray coast in the northeast of Scotland.

The offshore wind farm will comprise 60 SG 14-222 DD wind turbines which will be supplied by Siemens Gamesa and two offshore substations.

The wind turbines will be installed on monopile foundations that will have an approximate length of 90 metres, a maximum diameter of 10 metres, and a maximum weight of 2,000 tonnes.

The offshore installation works are scheduled to begin later this year and the wind farm is planned to be fully operational in 2025.

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When it comes to the Port of Nigg, the agreement to marshal components for Moray West continues the pipeline of offshore wind projects that have used the facility since 2016, said Ocean Winds.

The facility has benefitted from over GBP 120 million investment from GEG and is included in the recently awarded Inverness and Cromarty Firth Green Freeport.

“We are committed to further capital investment in the development of the necessary infrastructure, facilities, and land around the site to support increases in demand that is expected in the future from the likes of our partners at Ocean Winds,” said Sinclair.