Renewable

Aug 11 (Renewables Now) - The Scottish port of Peterhead has won a contract to support construction of the 92.4-MW European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC), developed by Swedish utility Vattenfall AB off Scotland.

The contract was awarded to Peterhead Port Authority from Royal Boskalis Westminster NV, which is Vattenfall’s key supplier for the offshore construction and installation, the Swedish utility said on Thursday.

Peterhead Port will moor a floating crane with a maximum lifting capacity of 5,000 tonnes, one of the largest in the world, and up to six barges that will be used to transport the suction bucket jacket foundations for EOWDC’s 11 turbines. In addition, Peterhead Port Authority will accommodate two supporting offshore construction vessels and become home of a project site office, to be set up within its territory.

Vattenfall said that foundations for the project will be transported to Peterhead via six barge vessels, with the installation vessel planned to be moored alongside the barges for heavy-lift activities. After the launch of offshore works, more than half of the foundations will be installed in Aberdeen Bay.

Installation activities are scheduled to begin later this year and take at least four months. Offshore work is seen to last between four and six weeks.

Construction of the 11-turbine EOWDC, also known as the Aberdeen offshore wind farm, started in October last year and first power ouput is planned for the summer of 2018. Vattenfall will use EOWDC to conduct an offshore wind research programme and in June selected the first projects that will received funding. The programme is designed to study the environmental effects of offshore wind in a real-time environment.