Moray East, Scotland

The 950 MW wind farm, located 22 km off the north-east coast of Scotland, was developed by MOWEL, Moray Offshore Windfarm East. As one of Scotland’s few large-scale offshore wind farms, it plays a key role in supplying electricity from renewable sources. It helps reducing the energy cost as well as the need for importing and using fossil fuels such as coal or gas. It will be capable of meeting the average electricity needs of 40% of the households in Scotland, that is equal to 950,000 households, and prevent 1.7 million tonnes of CO2 emissions a year from entering the atmosphere when compared to gas-fired power plants. MOWEL selected NKT as turnkey supplier of three cable systems including installation. Contributing factors were our state-of-the-art cable-laying vessel NKT Victoria and provision of preferred trenching solution. Having extensive experience from offshore wind farm projects NKT are proud taking responsibility for both cable system manufacturing and offshore installation enabling increased efficiency and minimizing of risks. There were, however, suddenly more than technical and weather challenges to overcome to finalize what was at the time Scotland’s largest ongoing infrastructure project. The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic had to be considered and handled throughout the installation.

Using our advanced technology and excellent production capabilities, NKT delivered the project on time and within budget. Our project management setup is recognized throughout the offshore wind industry, and it was great to see a cooperation with a new client benefit from our expertise. NKT designed and manufactured the 220 kV AC export cables, loaded them onto NKT Victoria and transported them to site in three campaigns. Despite the extreme weather conditions that is common in Moray Firth, we managed to lay and bury the cable system successful at a water-depth of 40-60 meters. The mission included 3 x 1 km of horizontal directional drilling (HDD) at the shore side. The full length 1.1 km HDD pipes were transported all the way from Norway over the North Sea by a tugboat. The rough autumn weather required innovative thinking. On one occasion, the cable had to be partly laid on a temporary route to avoid doing a cut and seal due to bad weather. When the weather had calmed down, the cable was retrieved to the vessel and relayed on the correct route. The efficient project completion was the result of a close and fruitful cooperation between client, different teams within NKT as well as with local subcontractors. Together, we also conquered the challenges caused by the pandemic and the tough travel and quarantine restrictions. All project members showed amazing commitment, regardless of if they had to travel to site or work from home.