Cadeler wins 72-turbine installation contract
Marine contracting giant Cadeler will install 72 Vestas 15MW wind turbines in the Scottish North Sea in a contract worth up to €130 million.
The Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm is one of Scotland’s largest, with a power generation capacity of 1.1GW, which onshore substation installation firm Careys says could power half of all Scottish homes.
The installation process will take around eight months, the firm says, although this will not begin until the fourth quarter of 2026.
Cadeler is racing to keep up with demand for its installation vessels, of which there is a global shortage, and for the Inch Cape project it will provide an M-class newbuild, it says.
The 15MW turbines came on to the market in February 2021, since when Vestas says it has received more than 12GW of orders and agreements.
Their blades are 115 metres long, with a total rotor diameter of 236 metres, hence the V236-15.0 MW name. They have a powertrain at the heart of the nacelle that weighs 260 tons itself. The total weight of these wind turbines is 630 tons and Vestas says they have a life expectancy of 30 years.
Inch Cape was given its original consent in 2014, and in those 10 years the company has reduced the number of turbines to be installed from 110 to 72 because it has selected larger ones.
Inch Cape is an equal joint venture between ESB and Red Rock Power.
Related Articles
OTHER NEWS
MARINE CONSTRUCTION
MARINE CONSTRUCTION