The turbine is the first of 11 to be deployed at the facility in Aberdeen Bay.
Vattenfall stated, “It is one of two turbines that have been significantly enhanced...the two turbines have each increased from 8.4MW to 8.8MW and yesterday’s installation represents the first time an 8.8 MW model has been deployed commercially in the offshore wind industry.”
Together with the nine 8.4MW turbines, this boosts the EOWDC’s output to 93.2MW. This is expected to produce the equivalent of more than 70 percent of Aberdeen’s domestic electricity demand and annually displace 134,128 tonnes of CO2.
This comes less than two weeks after the first of the EOWDC’s suction bucket jacket foundations was successfully installed. The EOWDC is the first offshore wind project to deploy the foundations at commercial scale.
MHI Vestas has specially designed the V164-8.4 MW and V164-8.8 MW turbines which all have a tip height of 191 metres. Each blade is 80m long - slightly taller than Aberdeen’s Marischal College – and the 164m rotorhas a circumference larger than that of the London Eye’s.
MHI Vestas Chief Operations Officer, Flemming Ougaard, said, “Our collaboration with Vattenfall not only provides clean wind energy for the UK, but also is an important opportunity for us to gain valuable experience with several different technologies. We look forward to the successful installation of the remaining turbines.”
The turbines are being transported from Esbjerg to Aberdeen by Swire Blue Ocean’s vessel, the Pacific Orca, where they will be lifted into position on the installed foundations. The Pacific Orca is believed to be the world’s largest wind farm installation vessel.
