RenewableUK is highlighting the innovative technology being used at Vattenfall’s European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre offshore wind farm in Aberdeen Bay, which is officially opened today. The 11 turbines include two 8.8 megawatt (MW) turbines standing 191 meters tall, which are the most powerful operating anywhere in the world. The project has a total capacity of 93.2MW – enough to meet the electricity needs of 70% of households in Aberdeen. An innovative type of turbine foundation, known as a suction bucket jacket foundation, is being used in UK waters commercially for the first time. Giant upside-down steel buckets sink into the seabed, and the water is pumped out of them to ensure they hold fast. This means they can be installed swiftly and almost noiselessly, reducing the construction period significantly. The main offshore work on the entire project took just six months. For the first time on a Scottish offshore wind farm, cables with double the conventional capacity have been installed (66 kilovolts instead of 33kV), meaning that fewer cables are needed, reducing costs. RenewableUK’s Chief Executive Hugh McNeal said: “This project is a great example of modern offshore wind energy infrastructure being built here in UK waters. These turbines, foundations and cables are state-of-the art pieces of big kit which help developers to build projects faster and produce more power, more cheaply. “Investing in this kind of innovative technology is central to the offshore wind industry’s ambition to meet a third of the UK’s power needs by 2030”. (ends) For further information, please contact: Vattenfall will issue a press release on the inauguration at 12.30pm, embargoed for 1.15pm. For more details, please contact: Jason Ormiston, Director Media Relations & Editorial UK, Vattenfall Group Communications, Phone: 0131 526 3137 Mobile: 07794 524 801 E-mail: jason.ormiston@vattenfall.com Notes: RenewableUK’s members are building our future energy system, powered by clean electricity. We bring them together to deliver that future faster; a future which is better for industry, billpayers, and the environment. We support over 400 member companies to ensure increasing amounts of renewable electricity are deployed across the UK and access markets to export all over the world. Our members are business leaders, technology innovators, and expert thinkers from right across industry. We are celebrating our 40th anniversary this year. More details on Vattenfall’s EOWDC offshore wind farm are available here More details on suction bucket foundations are available here
RenewableUK has highlighted the cutting - edge technology being used in the Vattenfall European Offshore Wind Energy Centre project in Aberdeen Bay . The 11-turbine project includes two 8.8 MW , 18 metre turbines , the most powerful of their kind in the world , while innovative suction bucket jacket foundation technology is being deployed commercially for the first time in UK waters . It pumps water through upside - down steel pipes , sunk into the seabed to secure the turbines , and reduces construction costs . Plus , the wind farm uses 66 kV AC , twice the usual capacity , to lower costs .