Scotland: SgurrEnergy secures Beatrice construction monitoring contract

The construction monitoring appointment follows a successful one-year role as lenders’ technical advisor for Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm Limited and participating lenders, in which SgurrEnergy, a Wood Group business, supported the project to financial close last month (May 2016). SgurrEnergy will also be providing operational support for the first five years of project operation.

The scope will include regular monitoring of construction and installation, checking progress and confirming consistency with the final design, reviewing permits and environmental requirements and undertaking site visits including factory and construction site visits.

SgurrEnergy will undertake risk management monitoring and continually review the project’s risk profile in accordance with the construction budget.

Beatrice offshore wind farm will consist of 84 Siemens SWT-7.0-154 wind turbines, which will be the largest turbine commercially deployed offshore.  Additionally, the project will utilise a new and innovative offshore transformer module solution in place of a standard offshore substation leading to significant cost savings.

Fiona Shaw, senior renewable energy consultant at SgurrEnergy, said: “Involvement in what will be the first commercially operating offshore wind farm in Scottish waters has been an extremely rewarding experience. We are proud to have supported the project and look forward to our continuing involvement through the construction phase and into operations, ensuring that the lenders’ interests continue to be met.”

Paul Cooley, Director of Renewables at SSE, said: “We are delighted that Beatrice has achieved financial close and we are extremely grateful for all of the support received throughout the development of the project from stakeholders.”

As part of SgurrEnergy’s role as lenders’ technical advisor, the team undertook a review of key technical and commercial aspects of the project including permits, consents and environmental considerations, the construction and operations phase participants, civil and electrical works.

A technology review was conducted as well as construction and operations-phase contract review, energy yield, review of the project’s O&M strategy, PCQRA review and financial model review.

Located in the Outer Moray Firth, approximately 14km from the Scottish Caithness coastline, the project is expected to be commissioned in 2019.