Scotland has been working hard on its biggest ever windfarm, work began in 2016 on the farm named Beatrice. Its located 13km from Caithness coastlines.
Recently it has been announced that the last of the 84 turbines has now been installed. Compared to other wind farms Beatrice is in the top 4 in the world, with this in mind these wind turbines will provide power for much of the surrounding homes up to 450,000 homes to be exact could be powered from this mammoth project.
It has taken many years of careful planning and sourcing the materials to start this huge project, and this project is finishing just as offshore and onshore winds future is looking more and more uncertain.
Beatrice will not only be one of the largest farms in the world but also one of the deepest at 58m, it also boasts turbine heights of 617ft from bottom to tip of the its blades! Interestingly this project uses jacket foundations as the base for all 84 wind turbines and will be the largest wind farm to do so. The ship used to carry out the major works is the Pacific Orca it is specially equipped for this kind of heavy lifting and can lift out of the sea onto its legs to carry out the work safely.
This offshore wind project is quite an achievement for Scotland and its renewable future, offshore wind is one of the most effective ways to harness the natural energy from wind and produce clean electricity. With the UK set to produce more power in a low-carbon way offshore wind has a big role to play in coastal areas, it a reliable and affordable resource that will boost our clean energy supply.
And not only will Scotland benefit from the power generated but also from the jobs created by this windfarm. And operations and maintenance base will be created and could generate 90+ jobs for area, old buildings have been renovated and reused, along with local factory’s and businesses which have been brought business during the manufacturing process of the turbines and jackets.
Jim smith of SSE renewables said:
"Delivering one of Scotland's largest ever private investments on time and under budget is a fantastic achievement given its complexity and we would like to thank everyone who has helped us make the project a reality."
Beatrice will provide 588mw of power, taller than the London eye these powerhouse turbines are a symbol of our ever-changing attitude towards renewable energy, the Uk is by far one of the best places in the world to invest in offshore wind projects
“In working with the government, the sector has shown it can deliver ever larger projects at ever lower costs while creating skilled, fulfilling, well-paid jobs”. – Greg Clark (business secretary)
