EDF Begins Construction on 450 MW Offshore Wind Farm

EDF Group has announced that it has begun construction work on the 450 MW NnG offshore wind farm in partnership with the Irish electricity company ESB

EDF Group has announced that it has begun construction work on the Scottish Neart na Gaoithe (NnG) offshore wind farm project in partnership with the Irish electricity company ESB which is taking a 50 percent stake in the project. The 450 MW NnG project confirms a wider commitment to renewables in the United Kingdom where EDF already has a strong footprint.

Neart na Gaoithe will consist of 54 turbines and will be located in the North Sea approximately, 15 km off the coast of Fife in south-east Scotland. When fully operational, the NnG offshore wind farm will generate the equivalent electricity to power over 375,000 households each year, which corresponds to 4 percent of Scotland’s electricity consumption. This fully consented offshore wind project has a 15-year Contract for Difference (CfD) at GBP 114.39/MWh in 2012 pound sterling, and grid connection agreements in place.

With all of the financial agreements now in place, EDF Renewables is launching full construction of the project and can announce some of the tier one contractors. These include: 

• Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) is the wind turbine generators supplier. It will provide the 8 MW turbine model;
• Saipem is the turbine foundations supplier and installer ;
• GE Renewable Energy Grid Solutions will carry out the supply the two electrical substations, plus electrical design work ;
• Prysmian SRL will supply and install the export cables, both offshore and onshore ;
• Deme Offshore has won the contract for engineering, procuring, constructing and installing the inter-turbines cables with offshore installation;
• Fred Olsen Windcarrier will be delivering the transportation and installation of the turbines with the offshore installation.

The construction of components is now underway, offshore construction will start in June 2020 and full commissioning will be complete in 2023. 

Bruno Bensasson, senior executive vice president, renewable energies and chairman and CEO of EDF Renewables said, that these are two major milestones achieved by EDF Renewables demonstrating its strong capabilities in developing large offshore projects.

“We are pleased to get work underway with our new partner ESB and all Scottish companies and stakeholders involved. The 450 MW NnG project will play an important role in de-carbonising the UK electricity system.”

The EDF Group currently operates more than 13 GW of gross wind and solar capacity around the world, including nearly 1 GW in the United Kingdom, in addition to the 23 GW of hydroelectricity. The NnG project is consistent with the CAP 2030 strategy which aims to double EDF’s renewable energy globally between 2015 and 2030 increasing to 50 GW.

PC: Ørsted