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GE to help Deliver Wind Energy to 375,000 Homes in Scotland

Paris, France – The Grid Solutions business of GE Renewable Energy has been awarded a multi-million dollar project for the design, supply, construction and commissioning of onshore and offshore wind substations for the Neart na Gaoithe (NnG) offshore wind farm in Scotland.

The offshore wind farm project is jointly owned by EDF Renewables and ESB and located about 12 miles off the Fife coast. GE will be responsible for the turnkey delivery of all infrastructure within the perimeter, including ground works and civil construction. According to GE NnG is expected to be fully operational in 2023.

Wind power is Scotland’s fastest growing renewable energy technology. Some say that the country is in the midst of a “wind energy revolution.” Figures from Weather Energy show that between January and June of 2019, wind turbines in Scotland provided enough electricity to power the equivalent of 4.47 million homes - almost twice the entire country’s domestic power requirements.

Neart na Gaoithe will play a major role in meeting the carbon emissions reduction targets of both the Scottish and UK governments. The 400/220 kilovolt (kV) onshore wind substation will be built on a greenfield site. It is expected, that once NnG is operational, it will offset more than 400,000 tons of CO2 emissions each year. Based upon the average domestic electricity consumption per home of 3,889 kWh in the UK (published July 2017) and an average Renewable-UK offshore wind load factor at 37.2 percent, according to GE, the offshore wind farm will provide enough electricity to power more than 375,000 Scottish homes.

In a consortium arrangement, GE is collaborating with HSM Offshore BV in the Netherlands and IV-One. HSM will provide the offshore topside platform designed by IV-One, that will house GE’s 220kV and 66kV substations.

The project’s onshore and offshore substation equipment includes four power transformers, four reactors, the static synchronous compensator (STATCOM), power quality components, and gas insulated switchgear — at 66kV, 220kV and 400kV — as well as protection and control, SCADA, and telecommunications systems. As GE points out, this solution will allow for 450 megawatts (MW) of low carbon energy to be connected to the Scottish electricity grid.



Source: IWR Online, Jan 01 2020