First Moray East OTM touches down

The first of the three Offshore Transformer Modules (OTMs), ME OSP 3, has been installed at the 950 MW Moray East wind farm offshore Scotland.

Siemens Energy shipped out the wind farm’s first OTM, ME OSP 2, for offshore installation on 30 June. This OTM will be installed later this week, a spokesperson for DEME Offshore said.

DEME is the EPCI contractor for the wind farm’s turbine foundations and three offshore substation foundations, as well as for the transport and installation of the OTMs.

Built by Smulders and Engie Fabricom Belgium, the OTMs will transmit the power generated by the wind farm’s 100 MHI Vestas 9.5 MW wind turbines located some 22 kilometres off the Aberdeenshire coast.

The OTMs will transform the output of the wind turbines from 66 kilovolts (kV) to the transmission voltage of 220kV.

In 2018, Siemens Energy secured the contract to connect the wind farm to the grid and until today Moray East represents the company’s largest UK grid access project.

The scope of supply includes the complete onshore substation including three SVC PLUS (STATCOM), as well as the three offshore substation platform topsides.

In addition, Siemens Energy will install a 35-kilometre underground export cable to the onshore substation at New Deer in Aberdeenshire.

Moray East is slated for commissioning in 2022.