The Courageous Tern offshore wind set up vessel has departed Dundee after finishing work on the Neart na Gaoithe (NnG) undertaking within the outer Firth of Forth.
Operated by Norwegian agency Fred Olsen Windcarrier, the Courageous Tern jack-up vessel incorporates a 1,600-tonne Huisman crane able to putting in the world’s largest offshore wind generators.
Loaded with the ultimate cargo of wind blades for the 450 MW NnG undertaking, the Courageous Tern set sail from the Port of Dundee on Friday 4 April.
Collectively owned by EDF Renewables and ESB, building on NnG started in 2019 with foundations works accomplished in 2023.
Positioned 15km off the coast of Fife, NnG generated its first energy into the nationwide grid in late 2024.
As soon as full, the wind farm will comprise 54 generators and generate sufficient electrical energy to energy round 375,000 common properties.
As building winds down, NnG undertaking director Matt Haag thanked the Port of Dundee and the folks of town for internet hosting the undertaking crew.
“We plan to be absolutely operational this summer season and stay up for sustaining the hyperlinks that we’ve constructed with our land-based neighbours all through NnG’s 25-year lifespan,” he stated.
Port of Dundee offshore wind
The Port of Dundee has hosted turbine elements for NnG since 2022 at a £40m custom-built marshalling quay.
In that point the port has additionally hosted one of many largest offshore vessels on this planet as a part of the NnG jacket set up marketing campaign.
The funding within the Dundee renewables hub marked the primary entry into the offshore wind market from the port’s proprietor Forth Ports.
Buoyed by the success of the NnG contract, Forth Ports would go on to take a position an extra £50m to improve services on the port of Leith for future offshore wind work.
© Equipped by Forth PortsFollowing on from NnG, Dundee will quickly play host to the turbine elements for the 1.1 GW Inch Cape offshore wind farm situated off the coast of Angus.
Forth Ports chief govt Stuart Wallace stated its groups are actually getting ready to welcome Inch Cape to each ports in Dundee and Leith.
“It’s been our pleasure to host NnG right here in Dundee and we stay up for listening to that it’s absolutely operational and pumping 450MW of fresh, inexperienced power into the Nationwide Grid in the summertime,” Wallace stated.
“We’re notably proud that this undertaking has been delivered with no recordable accidents which means that everybody concerned went dwelling protected.”
Dundee Metropolis Council chief, councillor Mark Flynn, stated the NnG undertaking showcased “the vital function our port is enjoying as a key hub in driving ahead the nation’s renewable power ambitions”.
