Dutch marine contractor Boskalis has started towing a giant floating wind turbine to a site offshore Scotland, where it will be installed as part of Grupo Cobra's Kincardine floating wind farm project.
"Yesterday, the tow-out of the impressive first floating turbine of the Kincardine floating wind farm took place. Our anchor handler Manta is currently towing this turbine, with a tip height of 180 meters, to the field off the coast of Aberdeen," Boskalis said Wednesday in a social media post.
Once at the location, the turbine will be hooked up to the already installed mooring spread by Boskalis' hook-up construction vessel Nicobar in a water depth of around seventy meters.
This is the first of five MHI Vestas V164-9.5 MW offshore wind turbines to be installed at the project site, in addition to a single V80-2.0 MW turbine installed back in 2018. Worth noting, at 9.5MW, these are the most powerful wind turbines operating on a floating foundation yet.
The six-turbine project features Principle Power-developed Windfloat semi-submersible foundations.
"During the installation activities the Nicobar will be supported by our anchor handlers Manta and Princess for station-keeping," Boskalis added. The wind farm site is located 15 km off the coast of Aberdeen, Scotland.
Boskalis has been tasked with transporting and installing all five MHI Vestas' floating wind turbines for the Kincardine offshore wind farm.
The Dutch company was also responsible for the transportation of the floating foundations from the fabrication yard in Ferrol in Spain to Rotterdam. Rotterdam is where the wind turbines are mounted on the foundations and then towed to the wind farm.
Kincardine Floating Offshore Wind
Developer: Kincardine Offshore Wind, Ltd (KOWL). Majority owned by the Cobra Group
EPC Contractor: Cobra Wind International Limited (CWIL).
urbines: 5 x V164-9.525 MW + 1 V80-2.0 MW
Foundation: WindFloat (floating, semi-submersible type)
Project Capacity: 49.625 MW
Location: Aberdeen Bay, Scotland
Distance from Shore: 15 km
Sea Depth: 60-80 meters
Nominal Voltage: 33 kV
Number of homes powered annually: 35,000
Expected life: 25 years