Scotland’s largest offshore wind farm close to operational
The Beatrice wind farm could meet the power demands of almost half a million people once it’s fully connected to the grid.
Scotland’s largest offshore wind farm moved one step closer to powering the nation’s grid with the installation of cable links, a connectivity company said.
French cabling company Nexans said it’s completed the installation of two cable links and high-voltage lines for the Beatrice wind farm off the coast of Scotland. To send power to the grid, the wind farm needs more than 40 miles of cables to reach landfall on the Moray coast on Scotland’s eastern shore.
“Located in the Moray Firth it will be Scotland’s largest wind farm, with the combined output of 84 turbines capable of generating enough electricity to power approximately 450,000 homes,” Nexan stated.
The Beatrice wind farm is steered by Scottish energy company SSE. Offshore construction of the $14 million project started last year.
Scotland has one of the more robust low-carbon programs in the world and its government in 2015 ruled that natural gas derived from underground coal deposits would have no place in a greening economy.
In January, Scottish Climate Change Secretary Roseanna Cunningham opened an $83 million fund to support low-carbon programs and back Scotland’s “moral obligation” to address climate change. Cunningham said the government is trying to attract and retain low-carbon investments that she said would shape the future of the Scottish economy.
Scotland pegged its future during a failed 2014 bid for independence on revenue from oil and gas reserves in the North Sea.
Beatrice should start sending power to the Scottish grid by 2019.
Source: upi
