Inch Farm offshore wind chases 2026 target after 'double platform' operation
The Inch Cape Offshore Wind farm has stood up to industry headwinds and reached financial closure earlier this year
The Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm consortium has installed a ground-breaking offshore substation in the North Sea, as backers of the 1.1GW Scottish project chase a target of producing first power before the end of 2026.
A 2,700-tonne platform housing a twin-circuit offshore transformer module (OTM) fitted with two sets of transformers and reactors was installed over the weekend on a 68-metre jacket foundation about 21 kilometres off the coast of Angus, northeastern Scotland.
This is the first time Siemens Energy has ever delivered a twin-circuit or "double platform" unit of this kind, according to a statement by the Inch Cape consortium.
Two massive 545 megavoltampere (MVA) transformers were shipped from Zagreb, Croatia, for the project.
Owned in a 50-50 joint venture by Irish utility ESB and China's Red Rock Renewables, Inch Cape is currently the largest offshore wind farm under construction in Scotland.
The project is anchored mainly in the UK’s AR4 allocation auction round for Contracts for Difference that was staged in 2022.
The financing covered more than £3.5bn ($4.6bn) of capex, with £2.7bn in project financing.
Construction of the project’s onshore substation and landfall works are proceeding at Cockenzie, East Lothian.
"It’s fantastic to see the project making such strong progress," said Xiaomeng Chen, CEO of Red Rock Renewables.
The contract for 170 kilometres of 220kV AC offshore export cables went to Denmark's NKT, with installation operations managed by Dutch T&I specialist Boskalis.
The wind farm will be powered by 72 Vestas V236 15MW wind turbines, with marshalling out at the Port of Dundee.
One of the last big contracts to fall into place for the project was a turnkey mandate for Dutch company TKF to supply and install 152km of 66kV inter-array cables. This was awarded in December.
Wind turbine installation is scheduled to begin in 2026, and the wind farm is expected to become commercially operational in 2027.
(Copyright)