THE largest offshore wind farm in Scotland has started producing energy.
The first turbine of a total of 114 on Seagreen wind farm, which lies 27 kilometres off the coast of Angus, was commissioned and connected to the power grid in the early hours of Monday morning.
Once fully operational the project is expected to produce enough power for more than 1.6 million homes – equivalent to two-thirds of all the homes in Scotland.
The £3 billion project will become the world’s deepest fixed bottom wind farm, with its deepest foundation due to be installed 59-metres below sea level in December.
A joint venture between TotalEnergies and SSE Renewables the project will displace over 2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide which would otherwise be generated by burning fossil fuels.
Paul Cooley, director of global offshore wind for SSE Renewables said: “Seagreen has achieved a number of key milestones to date, but to see this turbine turning in the North Sea and to have reached first power safely, is a fantastic achievement for everyone connected to the project.
The project has already brought benefits to the local community, the UK supply chain and, once completed, Seagreen will make a significant contribution to Scotland and the UK’s ambitious renewable energy targets.”
TotalEnergies entered into an agreement with SSE Renewables to acquire a 51% stake in the Seagreen project in June 2020.
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The project will support up to 80 full-time jobs over its predicted 25 year lifespan.
Vincent Stoquart, senior vice president in renewables of TotalEnergies, said: “We are delighted to announce the start of power generation from Seagreen, our first offshore wind farm in the UK North Sea.
"This marks a new step in the development of TotalEnergies’ offshore activities capacity. This milestone will contribute directly to our objective of reaching 35 GW of renewable electricity capacity worldwide by 2025.”
Seagreen is one of the largest construction projects ever undertaken in Scotland and has an installed capacity of 1075 megawatts.
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