First giant turbine powered up at Scotland’s biggest offshore wind farm

Scotland’s biggest offshore wind farm has begun generating power for the first time.

The first of 114 giant turbines in the £3 billion Seagreen project, currently under construction 17 miles off the Angus coast in the North Sea, has been switched on this week.

The 1,075-megawatt wind farm, which has the world’s deepest fixed-bottom turbines, will generate five terawatt hours of renewable electricity each year once it becomes fully operational in early 2023 – enough to supply around 1.6 million homes, equivalent to two-thirds of all households in Scotland.

The towering turbines, which are attached to the seabed in water up to 60m deep, stand 280m above the waves – almost as tall as the Shard, the UK’s tallest building, and more than double the height of highest point of the Forth Bridge.

Seagreen is a joint venture between Scottish-headquartered energy giant SSE Renewables and French oil, gas and renewables firm TotalEnergies.

Paul Cooley, director of global offshore wind for SSE Renewables, said: “Seagreen has achieved a number of key milestones to date, but to see this turbine turning in the North Sea and to have reached first power safely, is a fantastic achievement for everyone connected to the project.

“The project has already brought benefits to the local community, the UK supply chain and, once completed, Seagreen will make a significant contribution to Scotland and the UK’s ambitious renewable energy targets.”

The first of a total of 114 massive turbines in the £3bn Seagreen offshore wind farm -- Scotland's largest to date -- was connected to the grid in the early hours of Monday morning The £3bn Seagreen project will be Scotland’s largest offshore wind farm and the world’s deepest fixed bottom wind farm with its deepest foundation due to be installed at 59 metres below sea level in December.

Vincent Stoquart, senior vice president of renewables at TotalEnergies, said: “We are delighted to announce the start of power generation from Seagreen, our first offshore wind farm in the UK North Sea.

“This marks a new step in the development of TotalEnergies’ offshore activities capacity.

“This milestone will contribute directly to our objective of reaching 35 gigawatts of renewable electricity capacity worldwide by 2025.”

Seagreen, which will generate enough renewable electricity to supply 1.6 million homes, is currently under construction in the North Sea. Turbines have been shipped from the Port of Nigg to their final location, around 17 miles off the Angus coastline

Ministers have set a goal to create 11 gigawatts of new offshore wind in Scottish waters by 2030 to help end use of fossil fuels and cut greenhouse gas emissions.

To date there is 892 megawatts of operational projects, 4.9 gigawatts consented and 4.4 gigawatts in the pipeline.

Scotland’s national climate target is to reach net zero by 2045, five years ahead of the UK.