Inch Cape Onshore Substation Work Kicks Off

January 23, 2024, by Adnan Memija

Civil engineering contractor, Careys is set to start work at the brownfield site of the former Cockenzie coal-fired power station on the East Lothian coast as the next phase of the 1.1 GW Inch Cape offshore wind farm substation gets underway in Scotland.

Incha Cape onshore substation — *Latest aerial of Inch Cape’s onshore substation site in Cockenzie, East Lothian; Source: Inch Cape Offshore Limited*

Contracted by Siemens Energy, Careys will be responsible for the construction of the site infrastructure and the onshore substation, including its associated buildings, in readiness for the arrival of the electrical equipment including transformers and cables to transport the renewable energy generated by the Inch Cape offshore wind farm.

Inch Cape Offshore Limited (ICOL), a joint venture company held equally by Red Rock Power and ESB, submitted an application for the onshore substation site in 2018 and, a year later, it was approved by the Scottish Government.

Initial groundworks were completed at the site in December 2023 and this upcoming phase will see the creation of further drainage at the site, the laying of concrete bases, the construction of internal roads and bunds, landscaping, and the erection of steel-framed buildings.

Regular aerial drone surveys will be undertaken by the local company Innovair, to monitor the progress of the construction activity, said ICOL.

Siemens Energy and its partner Iemants were contracted to deliver the onshore and offshore substation package for the Scottish offshore wind farm.

The assembly and fit-out of the offshore substation is in full swing at the Smulders yard in Wallsend, Newcastle, the UK.

The Inch Cape offshore wind farm will feature 72 Vestas V236-15.0 MW turbines located 15 kilometres off the Angus coast and the power it generates will enter the national transmission system at Cockenzie.

Once complete, the project will be one of Scotland’s largest offshore wind farms, generating enough green energy to power the equivalent of half the homes in the country, the developer said.