Overview

The Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm is located 13 km off the Caithness coast in the Scottish waters of the North Sea. It is one of Scotland's largest operational offshore wind farms. The offshore wind farm is capable of powering up to 450,000 homes with capacity of 588 MW.

The Beatrice wind farm is operated by SSE Renewables as part of a joint venture with Red Rock Power Limited, The Renewables Infrastructure Group, and Equitix. The wind farm became fully operational in June 2019 after seven years of project development and three years of construction.

With a capital expenditure of around GBP 2.5 billion (USD 3.3 billion), it represents one of the largest private investments in Scottish infrastructure. The project was delivered on time and under the budget. Also, the offshore wind farm is operated and maintained from its base at Wick Harbour.

Project Background

Beatrice offshore wind farm project is part of Scotland government’s target of achieving  8-11 GW offshore wind, by 2030. The Beatrice project received approval from the Scottish government in March 2014 and reached financial closure in May 2016.

The onshore construction of the Beatrice offshore windfarm limited began in May 2016. This was followed by the offshore construction in April 2017. The next phase of installation of the wind turbines started in July 2018.

The first power was generated shortly after the installation of wind turbines. The final turbine was installed in May 2019, marking the completion of the installation phase. The wind farm became fully operational in June 2019.

Danske Commodities, an independent Danish energy service company, has signed a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) in 2016. Under the agreement, Danske Commodities will handle all forecasting and trading for 294MW, equivalent to 50 per cent of the windfarms’ production.

In 2021, ownership changed and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) sold equity interests. The Beatrice offshore windfarm Ltd has an operational life of 25 years generating clean and renewable energy for Scotland.

Project Location Map

Beatrice Offshore Windfarm is located in Scottish waters of the North Sea 13 km off the Caithness coastline. The site is in the Outer Moray Firth on the north-western point of the Smith Bank.

Technical Specifications

Initially, 344 foundation piles were installed using the vessel Stanislav Yudin. The vessel is owned and operated by Subsea 7. The Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm consists of 84 Siemens Gamesa SWT-7.0-154 wind turbines. 

Each pile is 40 meters long and weighs around 50 tonnes. These were hammered into the seabed using a 700-tonne pile installation frame to ensure precision and stability.

The next phase involved placing the pre-piled jacket substructures. Each jacket, weighing around 1,000 tonnes and standing up to 81 meters high. This was installed by the vessel Oleg Strashnov operated by Seaway Heavy Lifting. The jackets were delivered in pairs on seagoing barges and then grouted into place within the pre-installed piles. 

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The height of the jackets necessitated raising the National Grid power lines over the River Tyne in Newcastle to facilitate the transport of these structures from the Smulders fabrication facility.

The Nexans vessel Skagerrak lay two 70-kilometer lengths of export subsea inter array cable from Beatrice to the Moray coastline. After seabed surveying and obstruction clearance, these cables were buried below the seabed to prevent damage. Siem Offshore's vessels were also installed and buried around 140 kilometers of inter-array cable. These cables connect the 84 turbines to the two Offshore Transformer Modules (OTMs).

The OTMs located centrally within the wind farm were assembled at Babcock's Rosyth facility and transported for installation and connection. These OTM modules transform the energy generated by the turbines up to 220,000 volts for transmission to the onshore substation.

Contractors Involved

Project Benefits

The Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm project has benefitted broader UK and Scotland socially and economically. The project will generate GBP 2.4 billion in economic value in its 25 years lifetime. During the development and construction phases Beatrice wind farm contributed GBP 460 million to the Scottish economy.

This offshore wind farm has impacted the offshore industry and engineering within Scotland. The ongoing investment during the project's lifetime will create 800 jobs in the UK each year, 370 of which will be in Scotland.

The Beatrice wind farm boosted the home-grown supply chain within the UK's offshore wind energy sector. Around GBP 2.5 billion was invested in the development and construction of Beatrice. It was the largest private sector investment in Scottish history. In the operational phase, greater local support with GBP 1.4 billion investments benefitted Scottish companies. 

Also, notable community benefits are planned during  its operational life. Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm has committed EUR 34 million to the Beatrice Community for local enhancements. EUR 28 million is contributed through the UK Government's Coastal Communities Fund to promote sustainable economic growth and job creation in coastal areas.

The Beatrice Partnership Fund was launched in December 2016. This fund targets the communities on the east coast of Caithness and Sutherland, as well as several Moray coastal communities. NEF Consulting and SSE estimate that every euro spent by the Partnership Fund will generate EUR 3.21 in wider value. This creates nearly EUR 20 million of social value, thereby contributing to the economic and social well-being of these regions.

Project cost

The total project cost of the Beatrice offshore wind farm is GBP 2.5 billion (USD 3.3 billion). The final investment decision was made in May 2016, with an estimated project cost of GBP 2.6 billion. Later, it was completed under budget by around GBP 100 million in June 2019.

Project Timeline

Current and Future Outlook

Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm is now fully operational from 2019. It will provide clean electricity to up to 450,000 homes annually in Scotland. The wind farms operations in Wick Harbour base ensure the turbines keep turning for the next 25 years. Up to 90 local employees, including office staff and offshore technicians, give further support to daily maintenance activities.

New pontoons have been installed at the adjacent quayside to provide berthing for the Beatrice Crew Transfer Vessels (CTVs). These CTVs transport up to 40 people daily out of Wick Harbour for routine turbine maintenance.

In 2021, Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm Limited announced that it has signed an agreement to sell the Offshore Transmission Assets of the Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm to Transmission Capital Partners, a consortium comprising International Public Partnerships Limited, Amber Infrastructure Group and Transmission Investment.

Conclusion

The Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm is a remarkable achievement in Scotland’s renewable energy landscape. The offshore wind project is an example of a successful collaboration between the public and private sectors. The Beatrice wind project continues to provide for the UK's energy mix, economic growth, and community development as it enters its 25-year operational phase. 

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