The first turbine was installed at the Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind farm, located 15.5km off the east coast of Scotland.
The turbine, with a tip height of over 200 meters, was installed by Siemens Gamesa from the specialist jack-up wind turbine construction vessel, the Blue Tern, which initially placed the 87.5-meter turbine tower on its pre-installed steel jacket.
This was followed by the installation of the 350-tonne nacelle, containing the turbine generator, on top of the tower. Finally, its three blades, each 81 meters in length, were bolted to the nacelle.
Once commissioned, this will be the first NnG wind turbine to generate electricity for the National Grid.
Its 8MW of power will be sent via the subsea inter-array cable to its offshore substation, then onwards to shore via the subsea export cable to Thorntonloch Beach, where the underground onshore export cable will transmit its power to the national grid.
NnG Project Director, Matthias Haag, said: This is truly a pivotal moment for the NnG offshore wind farm. The construction of the first NnG wind turbine was a momentous sight. It’s a great achievement for our team and our contractors and we’ve taken a massive step towards our goal of generating 450MW of clean, green energy and helping Scotland achieve its Net Zero targets.”
The Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind farm is jointly owned by EDF Renewables and ESB.