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Work is currently underway to construct Scotland’s latest offshore wind farm, NnG. We take a look at the project in more detail and the job opportunities available.
Project Snapshot
Owner: EDF and ESB International (50% shared ownership)
Notable Contractors: Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy, Saipem, GE Grid Solutions, Prysmian, Harland & Wolff and DEME Offshore.
Value of project: $2,200.00m
What is the NnG project?
Neart na Gaoithe (NnG) is a new offshore wind project 15.5km off the coast of Fife – which, when complete, will span 105km2 of the outer Forth Estuary.
The wind farm will consist of 54 turbines, which is expected to output 450MW. Siemens Gamesa SG 8.0-167 DD platforms will be used for the clean energy project.
Installation work for subsea cabling to draw down power from the turbines will run to the shore at East Lothian, before travelling approximately 12.5km to an existing substation within the Crystal Rig onshore wind farm located in Lammermuir Hills.
The site was first selected as the ideal spot to generate strong offshore wind energy production in 2008, with planning permission for the essential onshore works granted by East Lothian Council in 2013.
Originally planning for the site included 75 wind turbines, but subsequent research recognised that 54 higher capacity turbines could achieve the same 450MW output – which Scottish Ministers gave their official sign off for in 2018.
A dedicated project site office in Edinburgh has been established to support work out at sea and onshore, with construction finally getting underway in 2020.
When will the NnG offshore wind farm be operational?
Startup is currently expected to commence in 2023, with the new site producing electricity for around 375,000 homes in Scotland once operational - helping to further increase the country’s renewable energy output. The wind farm will also offset an estimated 400,000 tonnes of CO2 emission each year.
What opportunities are currently available?
NRL are currently recruiting positions to work on the project including:
Lead Commissioning Engineers (onshore and offshore)
Commissioning Engineers (onshore)
Mechanical completion and logistics personnel (offshore)
Permit to Work Coordinators (offshore)
Anyone interested in any of the above positions can call Hannah on 07748 635623 for more details - or send their CV to hannah.crabtree@nrl.co.uk
Please note: job opportunities indicated above are live vacancies, last updated at the time this article was published.
A history of renewable energy innovation in Scotland
Offshore Wind Scotland reports that the country currently has 892MW of operational offshore wind, which includes development of the world’s first floating offshore wind farm – Hywind Scotland. With projects such as NnG, Moray East and Seagreen now under construction, total output could reach up to 4.9GW in the future.
This offshore wind complements the number of onshore operations already operational across Scotland’s coast – making renewable energy an exciting sector to work in.
NRL’s regional teams have been proud to support multiple renewable energy projects with workforce staffing solutions across the supply chain, including Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm which started producing power in July 2018. During construction, the jacket structures fabricated to install the wind turbines in the sea broke a record for their height. At up to 81 metres high, they were the deepest fixed foundations ever used on any offshore wind farm in the world. That’s 8 metres taller than the Taj Mahal and just 4 metres shorter than the Statue of Liberty.
You can find out more about NRL’s Falkirk team supported the construction of Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm in our project case study.