The offshore construction of ScottishPower’s East Anglia THREE wind farm has officially begun with the installation of the first foundations for the project.
The first monopile for the £4 billion, 1.4GW offshore wind power plant project has been installed. It stands 83.9 metres tall, 10.6 metres in diameter, and weighs 1,800 tonnes. According to ScottishPower Renewables, this marks a new record for the wind industry, as it has become the largest installed monopile to date from a jack-up installation vessel in Europe.
This foundation is the first of 95 to be installed for the project. Each will support one of 95 14.75MW Siemens Gamesa turbines and weigh between 1200 and 1800 tonnes. All of the foundations will be installed by Seaway Seven. The first of 95 transition pieces has also been installed, with Windar Renovables taking charge of the installation process for the transition pieces.
The East Anglia THREE project is set to be the largest in ScottishPower and Iberdola’s wind portfolios. The developers expect the project installation to be completed by early 2026.
Charlie Jordan, ScottishPower Renewables CEO, called the installation of the first turbine for the project “a real wow moment” for both ScottishPower Renewables and the wider Iberdrola company. Jordan noted that, once completed, the wind farm will be the second-largest in the world, adding: “to visibly see it starting to take shape in the North Sea is a real milestone moment and definitely something to be proud of”.
Lloyd Duthrie, vice president of Seaway Seven for UK, Ireland and Asia, agreed, adding that the development “really is testament to the scale of engineering that can be achieved together with partners across the supply chain”.
Another wind project from ScottishPower Renewables also celebrated a significant achievement earlier this month. The UK’s largest energy supplier Octopus Energy announced that it had acquired a 10% stake in the East Anglia One wind farm, which is located 43KM off the coast of Suffolk.
The project, which is owned by a joint venture of ScottishPower Renewables and Bilbao Offshore Holding, has been operational since 2021 and has a 714MW capacity, making it one of the largest operational wind farms in the world. This stake was acquired from Macquarie Asset Management and completed on behalf of Vector, Octopus’ offshore wind fund. Octopus also owns stakes in the 1.2GW Hornsea One wind farm, the 659MW Walney Extension and the 270MW Lincs Extension, all owned by Ørsted with the Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund also having a stake in the latter.
