MachairWind will be SPR’s first offshore windfarm on the west coast of Scotland. The offshore turbines will export their green electricity to the grid by a subsea cable. This will connect to a substation at an onshore location on the mainland of south-west Scotland; the location will be decided by National Grid.
Location
We have started carrying out survey works across the Option Agreement Area, which is shown by the turbines in the map above. The windfarm itself will only cover part of this area and its exact location will be determined by these survey findings.
Wind Turbines
As it is very early days for the project, no decision has been taken yet on the specific type of wind turbine that will be best suited for the conditions in and around our Option Area. The number of turbines we install will depend on the technology we select as part of the future detailed project design. With an average water depth of 55m across the Option Area, we expect to use foundations that are fixed to the seabed for the project, rather than those that are anchored.
Export Route and Grid Connection
The offshore and onshore cable routes are currently being evaluated and will be identified once technical studies, surveys and appropriate consultations with stakeholders have been carried out. MachairWind’s offshore turbines will export their green electricity to the grid by a subsea cable, that will connect to a substation at an onshore location on the mainland of south-west Scotland.
Engineering Surveys
Surveys will include:
Metocean & LiDAR Surveys
In April 2023, two metocean buoys, two seabed landers and a floating LiDAR (light detection and ranging) buoy were deployed off the coast of Argyll and these instruments continue to gather data about wind speed, air and, sea temperatures, current speeds, and wave heights on the site.
Site Investigation Surveys
In the summer and autumn of 2023, we undertook geophysical and environmental survey works on the windfarm development area. This involved gathering data about the ground conditions on the seabed. The intention is that further surveys work of this kind will be undertaken later this year.