Moray Offshore Windfarm (East) Ltd, which is still under construction, has commenced exporting power to the UK National Grid.
The engineering methodology used enables power to be exported before all 100 turbines have been installed.
Moray East exported its first power to the national grid via its new substation south of New Deer in Aberdeenshire on 5th June 2021.
Dan Finch Managing Director of Ocean Winds UK Ltd (who started development of Moray East in 2009) said: “This is the first output from the first turbines of our first project. Our ambitions in the Moray Firth are very much for the long term. We look forward to completing Moray East to its full 950MW capacity; to winning the Contract for Difference (CfD) auction which will enable us to construct Moray West, and to competing for ScotWind leases including development in the Moray Firth; all before the end of this year.”
Moray East Project Director Marcel Sunier said: “Our 950MW windfarm (more than 22km from shore and in water more than 50m deep) marks a key milestone in the global development of the offshore wind industry. Its unique engineering, cutting edge technology and location have reduced the cost of renewable power by two thirds in comparison with most offshore windfarms built to date in the UK.
“First Generation is a long awaited and hard earned milestone for the project. It represents the culmination of more than a decade of effort, when commercial scale offshore generation, in deeper waters, farther from shore was a concept rather than a reality.”
By Jake Frith
