Lord Dunlop, the British government junior minister for Scotland, has visited Nigg Energy Park to see how the £2.6 billion Beatrice offshore windfarm will help boost the local and national economy.
Perth-based utility giant SSE, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and SDIC Power Holdings – a Chinese power generation giant which is listed on the Shanghai stock exchange – are building the 588-MW in the Moray Firth, where the partnership will install 84 German-built turbines.
Paul Cooley, Director of Generation Development, SSE, said: “Beatrice – which will generate almost 900 jobs and up to £680 million of UK contracts – is a flagship project for the Scottish offshore wind industry and the UK’s skilled supply chain.”
Work for the grid connection at Blackhillock in Moray has already commenced and will get underway for the operations and maintenance facility in Wick in the coming months. Offshore construction will begin in 2017. The wind farm is expected to become fully operational in 2019.
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