The Caledonia offshore wind farm, a 2 GW project being developed in the Moray Firth by Ocean Winds, has taken a significant step forward by awarding a contract for the project’s most substantial design and engineering work to date.
This contract marks a crucial milestone as Caledonia is one of the few ScotWind projects slated to be operational by 2030.
Wood Thilsted Selected for Foundation Design
The contract has been awarded to offshore wind engineering consultancy, Wood Thilsted, who will be responsible for developing the structural concept design for the project’s turbine foundations.
Leveraging the extensive ground and metocean data gathered across the 429 km2 Caledonia site over the past two years, Wood Thilsted will create modeling for the preferred foundation design concept.
Benefitting from Prior Experience
The engineering team will also draw upon the valuable experience gained from Ocean Winds’ two neighboring projects – the operational Moray East and the under-construction Moray West, which is nearing completion having recently achieved first power.
Optimizing Design and De-risking the Project
Caledonia Project Director, Mark Baxter, emphasized the unique advantage of Caledonia’s location, stating, “Caledonia is uniquely positioned to benefit from knowledge and understanding accumulated over the two decades that Ocean Winds has been investing in the Moray Firth.
The excellent work from our previous projects ensures we have exceptional insights to optimize and de-risk the design from an early stage, supporting our delivery of this important ScotWind project and the UK’s 2030 offshore wind ambition.”
He further highlighted the insights gained from previous projects, stating, “Although we are in deeper waters, some of the soil conditions at Caledonia are very similar to Moray East, where we have used an optimised jacket design. Moray West is constructed with extra-large monopiles – which push the global industry limit on size – providing cost and efficiency benefits in fabrication.”
Exploring Design Options
Baxter expressed confidence in the design process, noting, “We have in-depth experience of design, marshalling and installation of both jackets and monopiles in the Moray Firth: the modelling during this phase will enable us to examine various solutions and determine the best design option for the site and the environmental conditions.”
Supply Chain Engagement and Consent Submissions
The design work, scheduled for completion by the end of the year, will also facilitate Caledonia’s initial engagement with the supply chain regarding foundation fabrication and installation.
Furthermore, onshore and offshore consents for the project are expected to be submitted in the autumn.
Collaboration with Wood Thilsted
Simon Beckett, Wood Thilsted’s Edinburgh-based Project Owner, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration, saying, “We are really pleased to be able to support Ocean Winds for this ambitious project. We are delighted to work with the Caledonia team to help them optimise their foundations with our cutting-edge design approaches and the rigorous assessment of the site conditions being led by our local team in Edinburgh.”
It’s worth noting that Ocean Winds has previously partnered with Wood Thilsted on projects in Poland and the US, demonstrating a successful working relationship.