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Projects
60/60 – Our 882MW Moray West project installs its final turbine!
What an accomplishment! From first power having been generated just four months ago to the complete installation of 60 turbines, our Moray West farm is inching closer to full operation!
Moray Firth is buzzing with excitement at the achievement of this incredible new milestone, and with good reason! Did you know?
- Moray West will be fully operational by 2025, making OW Scotland’s largest offshore wind operator.
- Each turbine can reach up to a 14.7 MW output each, making them the largest offshore commercial turbines in Europe.
- Through its lifespan, the project is expected to inject £800M into the Scottish economy and has already created over 1,500 FTE years in Scotland during construction.
- Blade production alone has doubled the size of the Siemens Gamesa Hull production facility, creating +1,000 local jobs.
Pete Geddes, our Project Director for Moray West, proudly shares: “What a journey– and what a result! Subsea surveys, boulder clearance, bomb disposal, scour protection, monopiles, vibro-hammers, transition pieces, cables, onshore and offshore substations – and finally, the deployment of the world’s largest capacity offshore wind turbine to date. More important than ever, the project has been delivered on time, on budget, and with the highest level of quality. Delivered by the best team in the business – congratulations to every person in Moray West – you can feel very proud of this tremendous milestone.”
We are overjoyed with the successful journey of our project, highlighting the hard work and determination of our teams who have exemplified OW talent and commitment!
Caledonia submits two key applications!
Busy times for our UK teams! Our Caledonia 2GW project reaches two critical permitting and consenting milestones within a week of each other!
On November 13th, Caledonia’s application for onshore transmission works, including a substation and underground cables, was submitted to Aberdeenshire Council, marking the completion of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the project.
Just a week later, the project submitted its offshore consent application to Marine Scotland. With up to 140 turbines, and four offshore substation platforms, this project is set to more than double the energy generation capacity provided by OW in the Moray Firth!
Mark Baxter, our Project Director for Caledonia, emphasizes the strategic advantage of the site: “Ocean Winds has been investing in the Moray Firth since the commercial dawn of the offshore wind industry in Scotland. This site – neighbouring our existing infrastructure – features water depths that enable us to use fixed foundations optimized for low cost, low risk, and rapid delivery. Additionally, our distance from shore allows us to use AC connection technology, avoiding delays caused by global HVDC supply chain shortages.“
These milestones reflect more than just progress—they are a testament to the expertise, dedication, and collaboration of our teams. From rigorous environmental assessments to engaging with local stakeholders, we are #ProudtobeOW!
EFGL receives all components
Great news! The components for all three Vestas V164 (10 MW) turbines arrived this month at Port-La Nouvelle, France for our EFGL project! These powerful turbines will not just break national records but will be setting the stage for floating offshore wind on a global scale. Once fully installed and operational, they will be the most powerful offshore turbines in French waters, and the most powerful ever installed on floating structures worldwide!
Our French teams have been working diligently with the local supply chain to advance the EFGL project, setting a strong foundation for the future of floating wind in the Mediterranean. This project offers invaluable technical, industrial, and environmental insights that will shape the success of upcoming renewable energy opportunities in the region.
Congratulations to the teams for their dedication and hard work!
Picture of the month
60/60 monopiles at Moray West—an incredible team made it happen!
Huge thanks to everyone, including those not pictured, for your talent and dedication!
OW’s Global Presence
Another busy November of events in the sector!
It’s been an action-packed month, especially in France! At the end of October, OW proudly supported the first C’est pas que du vent Hackathon, organized by WEAMEC and IUML UN e-SEA with the University of Nantes and Centrale Nantes. Over 50 talented students dove into the theme “The MRE field of tomorrow,” developing creative solutions to tackle real-world challenges.
We also joined the action at Salon du Littoral – Enjeux Méditerranéens event, where Thomas Bordron, Senior Consent & Development Manager for EFGL, shared exciting updates on the environmental monitoring of our EFGL project!
The excitement continued with our LEMS team cheering on our sponsored skipper, Benjamin Dutreux, at the exciting Vendée Globe competition. Before the race, our OW and LEMS team connected with hundreds of visitors at the Vendée Globe Village, showcasing our projects alongside local partners.
We wrapped up the month with our 4th participation in Les Assises de l’Économie de la Mer, a major event for the French maritime economy. Huge thanks to our Country Manager for France, Marc Hirt, for leading the roundtable on “How to defend the European MRE industry from Asian competition.”
In the neighbouring country of Spain, we had the opportunity to sponsor and be present at the Congreso Eólico Marino event, organised by the Asociación Eólica Española, where Manuel Fernandez, Director for Spain, participated in a powerful discussion on Spain’s offshore wind potential at the “Market Reflections: Choosing the Right Momentum” panel.
That leads us to Portugal, where we were part of APREN’s Renewable Energy Summit, the country’s leading renewable energy event! There, our team engaged in discussions on Portugal’s progress toward its ambitious target of 2GW of offshore wind capacity by 2030. We also had the privilege of hearing from the Portuguese Minister of Environment and Energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho, who emphasized the government’s plans to launch its first offshore wind auctions very soon!
In addition, José Pinheiro showcased the innovative WindFloat Atlantic project at Business2Sea Matosinhos 2024, and Marta Branco, Project Development Manager, joined two key industry events to shed light on the state of offshore wind development in Portugal.
Our joint venture team in Ireland had two productive days at the Wind Energy Trade Show in Dublin, connecting with industry leaders and kicking off Day One as Research and Innovation Partners. It was inspiring to hear from Eamon Ryan on Ireland’s ambitious plans for offshore wind!
We also participated in the Offshore Wind Conference Poland 2024, where Kacper Kostrzewa, our Project Director for BC-Wind, joined the opening panel, From words to deeds – we build! In a 1:1 conversation, he had the opportunity to share more about our BC-Wind project, and our focus on building a local supply chain.
To end the month with a bang, our OW teams participated in the APAC Wind Energy Summit 2024 as Platinum Sponsors in Incheon, Korea! With projects in Korea and Australia, and interest in Japan, our experts emphasized stable policies and financing, along with supply chain collaboration as key to unlocking the region’s renewable energy potential, while tailoring global expertise to local needs.
Our very own Rafael Munilla Muñoz, Chief Business Development Officer, kicked off OW participation by sharing OW’s vision for investing in the future of Asia-Pacific wind energy. On day two, he was joined by our Korea Country Manager Guzman Figar, who discussed accelerating offshore wind in Korea.
To save the best news for last, we also broke an OW record by signing 23 MoUs, including a new partnership with Hyundai Steel for the Hanbando project in Incheon!
A huge congratulations to our Korea team—Pelayo Rodriguez, Austin Park, Alex Choi, YT Kim, Namdong Yoon, Sooyun Kim, Kevin Hwang, Choonha Lee, SJ Hwang, Japeel Oh, Hyunsik Kim, Miguel Gomez, Miguel Gandasegui, and Namil Woo—for these remarkable achievements!
And just to wrap up this great month… OW won the Outstanding Contribution to Energy Security award at the OEUK Awards 2024 yesterday!! This recognition highlights the transformative impact of our Moray Firth projects—Moray East, Moray West, and Caledonia Offshore Wind Farm—on the UK’s clean energy future.
What’s new in offshore?
France’s offshore wind takes the spotlight!
Back again with another Regulation Flash! This time, we’re diving into France’s latest offshore wind updates.
Earlier this month, France announced its ambitious initiative to expand its offshore wind energy capacity through the upcoming AO10 tender set for 2025. The tender will allocate a total of 9GW of offshore wind power into two segments:
- 4GW bottom-fixed: English Channel, leveraging ideal conditions
- 5GW floating: Brittany, Gascony and Mediterranean Sea, unlocking potential in deep waters
This tender is a key step toward France’s target of 18 GW of offshore wind by 2035, aligning with EU renewable energy targets.
OW is ready to shine, drawing on our extensive experience with French projects—EFGL, Dieppe Le Tréport, and Îles d’Yeu et Noirmoutier—all currently under construction.
Fun fact: France is the OW country with the most projects under construction!
With insights gained in regulation, local collaboration, and environmental stewardship from these projects, we’re well-positioned for AO10’s success.
The renewable future is here—let’s shape it together as #OneTeam!
InnOWation
INNOW continues to advance at full speed!
INNOW is making good progress, and on the 6th and 7th of November we held the mid-programme face-to-face session!
In addition to the weekly coaching calls they have been engaging in throughout the whole programme, this time the 18 INNOW participants had the opportunity to come together and continue working on the five initiatives they are progressing, to finally present their advancements to the Innovation Committee.
Let’s hear what the participants think about INNOW so far!
People
Welcoming the Christmas season at OW!
As the Christmas season approaches, at OW we want to make the most of this season!
This year, we are proud to launch the global Let’s Collaborate’ Christmas Campaign. This initiative not only strengthens our sense of unity as One Team but also empowers us to make a meaningful difference in the local communities that surround us.
The ‘Let’s Collaborate’ campaign combines global and local actions, providing everyone across our regions with an opportunity to contribute and spread holiday cheer:
- One Team Global Action: From December 9 to 13, every office will host a week-long food collection drive, gathering non-perishable items to support those in need, that will be donated to local NGOs!
- Local Voluntary Actions: Each geography will engage in activities tailored to the needs of their community, such as supporting soup kitchens, collecting essential items for families, or visiting vulnerable groups. We look forward to hearing about the experiences you will have!
It is great how, together, wherever we are based, we can all make a lasting impact and bring joy to many during this special season.
Thank you, OW team, for your participation!!
Communications
Sailing into new horizons with the U.S. Sailing x SouthCoast Wind Partnership!
Presenting a new segment to the monthly newsletter: Case Studies.
Stay tuned for updates on all the exciting initiatives brought to life by our different OW teams – keep an eye out, your initiative might be next!
All aboard! This month, we’re highlighting the great work of our North American teams as SouthCoast Wind (SCW) who since the beginning of development continues to establish meaningful engagement with key local stakeholders demonstrating the mutually beneficial co-existence of offshore wind energy and marine recreation activities.
Through SCW, OW establishes national ties through its alliance with US Sailing – a leading provider of sailing and powerboating training and certification representing a network of over 250,000 sailors and recreational boaters. This organization is a key stakeholder group for the offshore wind industry in the United States and we could not be prouder to be their exclusive “Official Offshore Wind Partner”.
What does this exclusive partnership look like, you may ask?
The collaboration focuses on two key areas:
- US Sailing’s STEM education program (REACH): Providing ocean-focused learning to over 100,000 students annually at 400+ locations, with SCW enriching the curriculum through offshore wind energy content and interactive activities.
- Sponsor of the 2023 & 2024 US Youth Championships: As “Presenting Sponsor,” SCW gained visibility, strengthened ties with marine stakeholders, and showcased commitment to coexistence at this high-profile event near our project site.
Another significant value of this partnership is US Sailing’s commitment to submitting favourable comments and letters of support to advance our SCW project across various federal and state permitting proceedings.
Between our #OWAmbassador kitesurfer Pedro Afonso in Portugal, to our sponsored skipper Benjamin Dutreux at Vendee Globe in France, to this new sponsorship, we are extremely #ProudtobeOW!
LinkedIn post of the month
Incredible progress at Moray West this month with the last turbine successfully installed! Did you catch our LinkedIn post? 👀
Remember! Keep your LinkedIn updated with your latest profile picture!
