Aberdeen’s Subsea 7 signed for ‘very large’ Seagreen offshore wind contract

By Hamish Penman

June 7 2022, 6:16 pm

The Seagreen 1A offshore wind farm located around 16 miles off the Angus coastline, could be operational as soon as 2025/26.

Aberdeen workers are set to deliver a major offshore wind project after Subsea 7 struck a “very large” agreement worth hundreds of millions of pounds.

Seaway 7, the renewables wing of the energy services firm, has been picked as a preferred supplier for the Seagreen 1A project, off the coast of Angus.

While the scope of work is still to be finalised, it is likely Seaway 7 will provide the full engineering, fabrication, transport and installation of 36 foundations.

Jackets for the first phase of Seagreen were shipped out from the Port of Nigg in the Cromarty Firth.

It may also be responsible for transporting and installing the offshore substation, and the procurement and installation of inner-array cables.

The deal and timeframe is subject to the project securing consent and a final investment decision by the project’s lead developers, SSE Renewables and TotalEnergies.

But execution of the project is due to get underway in 2023, with offshore work commencing in late 2024, the company said.

Subsea 7 in Westhill’s Arnhall Business Park. Picture by Richard Frew

Work will be led from Seaway 7’s Aberdeen office it added.

A value for the agreement with project’s owners wasn’t given but Oslo-listed Subsea 7 regards it as “very large”, meaning it is worth between £399 million and £599m.

Seagreen 1A is adjacent to the existing Seagreen project, which is on course to be Scotland’s largest and is currently being progressed by Seaway 7.

It represents around 500 megawatts (MW) of additional renewable energy generation capacity.

The extended wind farm, located around 16 miles off the Angus coastline, could be operational as soon as 2025/26.

John Evans, chief executive of Subsea 7, said: “We are very pleased to be continuing our proactive participation in the UK’s ongoing energy transition and we look forward to extending our long-term collaboration with SSE Renewables, which began in 2009 with the pioneering Greater Gabbard development and continued with Beatrice, Seagreen and Dogger Bank.”

Stuart Fitzgerald, chief executive of Seaway 7, said: “The project will continue to be managed from our office in Aberdeen where we are bringing over a decade of UK offshore wind expertise to Scotland’s largest offshore wind project.”