The offshore construction program for ScottishPower’s biggest-ever renewables project is officially underway with the installation of the first foundation for the green energy company’s USD$5.3 billion (£4 billion) East Anglia THREE offshore windfarm.
Standing at 83.89 meters tall, 10.6 meters in diameter and weighing 1,800 tons, the monopile also represents a new offshore wind industry record, becoming the largest installed to date from a jack-up vessel in Europe.
The monopile, manufactured by Joint Venture Navantia Seanergies Windar Renovables (JVNW), was installed by the Seaway Ventus jack-up installation vessel.
It is the first of 95 monopiles being manufactured for the 1.4GW windfarm—the biggest in the ScottishPower and Iberdrola portfolios. JVNW is fabricating 45 of the 95 foundations for the project, with the remaining 50 being manufactured by Haizea.
Each of the 95 monopiles will be between 67 and 85 metres in length, up to 10.6 metres in diameter and weigh between 1200 and 1800 tons. They will support 95 14.7MW Siemens Gamesa turbines that will generate a total of 1400MW of clean energy—enough to power the equivalent of more than 1.3 million homes.
The first of the 95 transition pieces, produced by Windar Renovables, has also been installed, with each 20 meters in height, 8 meters in diameter and weighing more than 400 tons.
Seaway7 is installing all of the East Anglia THREE monopiles and transition pieces. To achieve this, the Seaway Ventus jack-up vessel has been fitted with a custom-built mission equipment spread that was designed, fabricated, and installed in under two years to meet the project schedule and performance requirements.
The installation of all 95 turbines is expected to be completed by early 2026.