Monopile Installation Campaign Set to Start at Moray West Wind Farm Offshore Scotland

October 3, 2023, by Adnan Memija

Boskalis’ heavy lift installation vessel, Bokalift 2, arrived at Invergordon Port on 1 October to commence loading of the first batch of three monopiles for installation at the Moray West offshore wind farm site in Scotland.

The monopile installation work will be carried out by the vessel Bokalift 2, under a contract Boskalis signed with the developer Ocean Winds at the beginning of this year.

The first major component installation includes the monopiles for the two offshore substations, the first of which is loaded and ready to be barged from the Tyne to the Cromarty Firth.

The Moray West offshore wind farm will comprise 60 Siemens Gamesa 14.7 MW wind turbines and two offshore substations, all installed on monopile foundations, 48 of which are delivered by Dajin Heavy Industry and 14 by Navantia Seanergies and Windar Renovables.

Monopiles at the 62 foundation locations and the topsides of the offshore substations will be installed using dynamically positioned installation vessels.

There are 26 monopiles already marshalled at Invergordon prior to the installation vessel arriving, said Ocean Winds.

“This is a great milestone on our construction journey and highlights the key role of the ports in Cromarty Firth in enabling our project. The foundations team are busy coordinating inbound batches of monopiles and transition pieces as well as the start of installation, ensuring project programme remains on track for the installation of the offshore substations and completing the transmission infrastructure,” said Pete Geddes, Moray West Project Director.

In February, Boskalis said the company would deploy its DP crane vessel Bokalift 2 for the installation of the monopiles and that, as part of the installation campaign, it would also install the two substations with their respective transition pieces.

The works on installing the foundations and the offshore substations are anticipated to be completed by June 2024, with the installation of monopiles and substation topsides planned to be completed by the end of March or in early April 2024, while all the transition pieces are planned to be in place by June 2024.

The 882 MW Moray West offshore wind farm, being developed by Ocean Winds, is located off the east coast of Scotland in the Moray Firth.

The project is set to begin generating power from 2024. Once fully completed, the offshore wind farm is expected to meet the electricity requirements of about 650,000 households in Scotland for the next 25 years.