Vattenfall has decided to invest more than SEK 3 billion (approx. EUR 317 million) in the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC) off the Scottish coast.
The wind farm will comprise 11 turbines with a total capacity of 92.4MW. Apart from generating electricity, it will also be a centre for testing and developing new technologies for offshore wind power.
The Scottish government granted approval for building the wind farm in 2013. After legal challenges were cleared in December 2015, the project team has been preparing for the wind farm’s installation .
Onshore construction activity will start later this year and the offshore works are expected to start in the latter part of next year so that the wind farm can start generating electricity in spring 2018.
Vattenfall will acquire the shares in Aberdeen Offshore Wind Farm Limited (AOWFL), the company behind the project, owned by the Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group, and become the sole owner of the EOWDC.
Last week, the company announced it had chosen MHI Vestas as a preferred supplier of wind turbines for the project.
Boskalis has been named the preferred offshore balance of plant (BoP) contractor for the construction and installation (EPCI) of the offshore infrastructure including the foundations and cabling, while engineering and infrastructure specialist Murphy & Sons has been named as preferred bidder to provide the onshore substation and associated cabling work.