Major milestone for NnG with imminent arrival of first turbine components

The Neart na Gaoithe (NnG) offshore wind farm, under construction 15km off the coast of Fife, will achieve another major milestone next week when its first turbine components are scheduled for delivery to the Port of Dundee.

A total of 72 turbine tower sections, and 36 blades, are due to travel up the River Tay by barge in March and be brought alongside the new DunEco Quay. They will be imported onto Scotland’s brand new custom built Wind Turbine Marshalling facility. Over the following months the tower sections will be assembled into 24 turbine towers, each 90 metres in height. The blades, each 83.5 metres in length, will be stored at the Port of Dundee prior to their shipment to site.

The Neart na Gaoithe (NnG) offshore wind farm, which has both a local and global supply chain, has been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic both in Europe and in the Far East, resulting in a delay to its commissioning. The new Contract for Difference (CfD) start date is June 2024. Despite this delay construction continues on this major infrastructure project for Scotland.

Over the next few months, a total of 162 tower sections; 162 blades; and 54 nacelles will be delivered from turbine manufacturer, Siemens Gamesa. NnG’s 54 turbine towers will be assembled at the Port of Dundee before being placed on a specialist wind turbine installation vessel alongside nacelles and turbine blades which will transport them to, and install, the turbines at the site of the offshore wind farm.

NnG’s two offshore substations will soon be commissioned and energised with further drilling, piling and grouting work on the foundations carried out. The 54 jackets, on which the turbines will sit, will be installed in 2023 before installation of the turbines.

Onshore, the project’s new substation will be finished in 2022 as will the new Operations and Maintenance Building at Eyemouth in the Scottish Borders where there will be 50 new jobs.

The first turbines will be operational in time for the wind farm to begin generating power in 2023, with completion scheduled for 2024.

NnG, jointly owned by EDF Renewables and ESB, has a capacity of c.450MW. It will supply enough low carbon electricity for around 375,000* homes and will offset over 400,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year.

Matthias Haag, NnG Project Director, said: “This is a major milestone for NnG as we see the first components delivered to our marine hub at the Port of Dundee. While the pandemic has impacted our timescales, we remain as committed as ever to working with the Scottish supply chain to get these turbines in the water and start generating clean, green electricity for the UK.”

Andy Sykes, Hull Plant Director for Siemens Gamesa, said: “Siemens Gamesa in Hull is delighted to be supplying wind turbine blades to the NnG project and to be contributing to both the UK content and the provision of clean, green energy to UK households."

David Webster, Director of Energy at Forth Ports which owns the Port of Dundee, said: “This is what we have been working towards with our £40m investment in the Port of Dundee. The port is ready and we look forward to bringing the first NnG components over the quayside and to playing our part in Scotland’s drive towards Net Zero carbon emissions.”

Notes to editors
* Based upon the average domestic electricity consumption per home of 3,889 kWh per the Energy Consumption in the UK (published July 2017) and Renewable-UK offshore wind average load factor at 37.2%

About Neart na Gaoithe (NnG)
Neart na Gaoithe means ‘strength of the wind’. NnG is a key UK offshore wind farm project and, with up to £1.8billion invested in its infrastructure, will have a major positive impact on the Scottish economy. NnG is located off the east coast of Scotland, 15.5 km off the Fife coast and covers an area of approximately 105 km2. EDF Renewables acquired NnG in 2018 and in 2019 sold a 50% stake to leading Irish Energy Company, ESB.

About EDF Renewables in the United Kingdom
EDF Renewables UK and Ireland is a subsidiary of EDF Group, one of the world’s largest low carbon electricity companies, and our investment and innovation is reducing costs for consumers and bringing significant benefits for communities. With our operating portfolio of 36 renewable energy sites including battery, onshore and offshore wind (together totalling 1 GW) we are providing much needed affordable, low carbon electricity. We have an expanding portfolio with almost 5 GW of projects in planning and development, including wind, battery and solar PV.

About ESB
ESB operates across the electricity market on the island of Ireland: from generation, through transmission and distribution to the supply of customers with an expanding presence across Great Britain. In 2017 ESB opened an office in Glasgow to spearhead further development of renewables, in particular onshore and offshore wind, across Scotland. ESB is the owner of the distribution and transmission networks in the Republic of Ireland (via ESB Networks) and Northern Ireland (via Northern Ireland Electricity Networks Ltd). In 2017, the company had a 42% share of generation in the all-island market (via Generation and Wholesale Markets) and a 34% share of electricity supply in the all-island market (via Electric Ireland) with 1.4 million customer accounts.