https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2018/07/scottish-offshore-wind-farm-hit-by-trump-lawsuits-starts-generating-power
Scottish offshore wind farm hit by Trump lawsuits starts generating power
By Jack Loughran
Published Monday, July 2, 2018
An offshore wind farm off the coast of Aberdeen, Scotland, that was
heavily opposed by Donald Trump has supplied its first power to the grid
through a 66 kilovolt (kV) subsea cabling system.
Vattenfall, the firm running the European Offshore Wind Deployment
Centre (EOWDC), said it was the first time cabling of this capacity had
been installed on a commercial offshore wind project in Scotland.
The project hit headlines in 2014 when Donald Trump lost a legal
challenge against plans for the 11-turbine farm, arguing that it would
spoil the view from his golf resort.
After losing this challenge, he escalated the case to the Supreme Court
in 2015 where he subsequently lost again, clearing the way for the
project to go ahead.
The generation of power was hailed as a significant milestone for the
project, which is now Scotland’s largest offshore wind test site.
The turbines at the site are the most powerful in the world, standing
191 metres tall, with each blade 80m long and a 164m rotor that has a
circumference larger than that of the London Eye. The development is
expected to reach full power later in the summer.
Power from the turbines is being exported through two ‘strings’ of 4km
export cable with a capacity of 66kV.
Compared with conventional cabling of 33kV, less inter-array cabling is
required leading to reduced construction cost. Overall, just over 21km
of cabling has been installed from the EOWDC to Blackdog Substation.
Project director Adam Ezzamel said: “We have overcome major engineering
and technical challenges to achieve first power on the cutting-edge
EOWDC, thanks to the collective expertise of Vattenfall and our
contractors MHI Vestas, Boskalis and Murphy.
“Our priority now is to fully commission the wind farm safely throughout
the summer.
“First power from EOWDC reinforces north-east Scotland’s status as
Europe’s energy capital and will help establish the region as an
international centre for offshore wind generation.”
Energy minister Paul Wheelhouse said the first power was a “very
significant milestone”.
He said: “I congratulate the project team at Vattenfall for not only a
successful installation but also their achievement in generating
electricity from the world’s most powerful offshore wind turbines which,
with each rotation at full power, will generate enough energy to power a
home for 24 hours.
“Once the test and demonstration site is fully operational, not only
will this help the offshore wind sector to further reduce its costs
through lessons learned during operations, but the output from EOWDC
will itself add significantly to Scotland’s renewable electricity
generating capacity, building on figures announced last month that
showed installed capacity reached a record 10.4GW in the first three
months of 2018 and which also provisionally indicated that renewable
sources met an equivalent of 69 per cent of Scotland’s electricity
demand in 2017.”
Jean Morrison, chair of Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group, added: “The
timescale between the first installation and first power is remarkable.
The techniques and innovations developed at the EOWDC will be hugely
significant for the industry and should help to reduce the future costs
of offshore wind.
“As energy demand grows, we need to maximise the returns from our
natural resources and offshore wind can help us do that.”
