Seabed Preparation Activities Set to Commence at Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm

Seabed preparation activities are scheduled to begin at the Inch Cape offshore wind farm site in Scotland at the end of March.

N-Sea, the contracted company for the job, will kick off the work within the array site and the export cable corridor starting on or around March 30 and continuing until November 2025.

The seabed preparation will involve tasks such as relocating boulders and identifying and mitigating any unexploded ordnance (UXO) that may impact the installation of offshore structures, inter-array cables, and export cables.

The boulder relocation vessel, FS Aries, is anticipated to arrive at the site by March 30, while the UXO identification and mitigation vessel, 4-Winds, is scheduled to reach the area around April 4, as per a Notice to Mariners from the project team.

Progress on the Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm

The developers of the 1.1 GW Inch Cape offshore wind farm, ESB and Red Rock Renewables, reached financial close on the Scottish project in January, transitioning it into the offshore construction phase.

Situated 15 kilometers off the East Coast of Scotland, the Inch Cape offshore wind farm covers a total area of 150 square kilometers.

The 1,080 MW project will feature 72 Vestas V236-15.0 MW turbines installed on a combination of monopile and jacket foundations, along with an offshore substation and two 85-kilometer AC export cables that will transmit power to an onshore substation currently under construction at Cockenzie, East Lothian.

With an expected first power generation in late 2026 and full commissioning in 2027, the Inch Cape offshore wind farm is poised to be a significant contributor to Scotland’s renewable energy goals.

Operational Outlook

The project’s operations and maintenance (O&M) activities will be managed from a purpose-built base at the Port of Montrose in Angus, ensuring efficient and effective management of the offshore wind farm’s operations.

As preparations for seabed activities ramp up and construction progresses, the realization of the Inch Cape offshore wind farm represents a noteworthy milestone in Scotland’s renewable energy landscape.