Renewable Energy

Boskalis to install Moray West monopiles, substations

Feb. 28, 2023

Ocean Winds has contracted Boskalis to provide services for the Moray West offshore wind farm in the UK central North Sea.

Boskalis will deploy its crane vessel Bokalift 2 for the installation campaign.

Offshore staff

PAPENDRECHT, the Netherlands – Ocean Winds, the joint venture between EDP Renewables and ENGIE, has contracted Boskalis to provide services for the Moray West offshore wind farm in the UK central North Sea.

The 882-MW development in the Moray Firth offshore eastern Scotland comprises 60 offshore wind turbines and two substations, all fixed on monopile foundations.

According to Boskalis, due to the large turbine size (14.7 MW) and water depth of up to 54 m, large XXL monopiles will be required weighing up to 2,000 t each.

The company has performed a geophysical site survey that included identification of unexploded ordnance.

White Marlin semisubmersible heavy-transport vessel

Over the next few months, it will transport some of the monopiles from the Far East for unloading at the port of Invergordon, close to the project site. The heavy transport vessel White Marlin will carry eight monopiles per voyage.

Prior to installing the foundations, the company will undertake seabed preparation activities by installing a layer of rock to serve as a filter and scour protection for the monopiles.

Its DP crane vessel Bokalift 2 will then start installation of the monopiles using its 4,000-t crane with a new upending hinge and motion-compensated pile gripper.

In addition, the company will deploy a large impact hammer and a vibro-hammer, and it also will install two substations and their transition pieces.

02.28.2023