The Beatrice offshore wind project has positioned Scotland as the top UK region for construction contract value in May, for the second month in a row, according to the May edition of the Economic & Construction Market Review from the industry analyst Barbour ABI.
The majority of the contracts awarded in May by value were in Scotland, accounting for 24% of the UK total, followed by London with 19% of contract award value. The main reason for Scotland’s May figures was the award to develop the Beatrice offshore wind farm in the Moray Firth, valued at £1.3 billion, which is yet more evidence of the burgeoning renewables sector in Scotland. The award of the wind farm contract in May means that utilities was the dominant sector within infrastructure, accounting for 68% of the contract value awarded, with transport at the second place, accounting for 21% of the value of contracts, Barbour ABI said.
The offshore wind farm will be built by Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Limited, a partnership formed between SSE, SDIC Power and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners.
Beatrice will feature 84 Siemens 7MW wind turbines, installed some 14 kilometres off the Caithness coast. The project, which will be controlled and operated from a base at Wick, is expected to be fully operational in 2019.