MHI Vestas Seals 950MW Scottish Deal

MHI Vestas and Moray Offshore Windfarm (East) Limited have signed a firm turbine supply order for the 950MW Moray East offshore wind farm in Scotland.

Under the contract, MHI Vestas will deliver one hundred of its V164-9.5 MW offshore wind turbines for the project in the Moray Firth. The order includes a 15-year service agreement, MHI Vestas said. This is the company’s largest ever MW project.

In May, Moray East announced Fraserburgh as the preferred Operations and Maintenance port for the project and last month, the Port of Cromarty Firth was selected as the pre-assembly harbour.

Project Director for Moray East, Oscar Diaz, said: “Moray East is a landmark project for the offshore wind industry, delivering sustainable, renewable generation at a highly competitive power price. The project will bring new opportunities to areas including Fraserburgh, where we have announced the windfarm’s operations and maintenance base will be located, and in the Cromarty Firth, where the port was last week selected as the pre-assembly port.

The news from MHI Vestas comes on the heels of its recent announcement that the company’s blade factory on the Isle of Wight received a second blade mould and is in the process of hiring 380 new, direct jobs to keep pace with growing demand.

MHI Vestas CEO, Philippe Kavafyan, said: “With the signing of the firm order, we can accelerate preparations for our company’s largest MW project to date. Installing the world’s most powerful commercial turbine, the V164-9.5 MW, in Moray Firth means more local, clean energy jobs in Scotland and across the UK, including our most recent expansion of blade production on the Isle of Wight.”

Moray East offshore wind farm is located 22km from the coast of Scotland. In 2017, the project won a Contract for Difference (CfD) from the UK Government to supply electricity at GBP 57.50/MWh. The wind farm is scheduled for commissioning in 2022.