One of Scotland’s most powerful offshore wind farms has connected to the grid for the first time and is on target to produce enough power for half of Scotland's homes.Nearly a third of its 60 turbines have been installed, and all the platforms on which the turbines sit.
The project involves the biggest turbines yet installed in British waters, each spinning up to 257m above sea level. A further major part of the project are the seabed cables linking the turbines with each other and with the Moray coast. These were made in Hartlepool by JDR. The Moray East windfarm, in a sea area that borders Moray West, is reckoned to have brought 6000 worker years to the UK and £550m of value added, with Moray West on track to reach similar numbers.
The scale of engineering in the biggest turbines now on the market is astonishing. These are turbines designed to withstand the worst of Scotland's sea and weather conditions so that they can harvest the power of the wind.