Vestas to build record-breaking onshore wind farm on Shetland Islands

UK-based developer SSE Renewables announced yesterday (19 August) that Vestas will be in charge of building its £580 million (€643 million) Viking wind farm on the Shetland Islands, a Scottish archipelago north east of the Scottish mainland.

Vestas will supply 103 V117-4.2 MW turbines in 4.3MW power modefor the project, which is expected to produce 2TWh of energy a year to be exported to the mainland.

The contract includes the supply, installation and commissioning of the turbines, as well as a 30-year service deal. Construction on the site is due to start this month with completion earmarked for 2024.

The turbines will have a rotor diameter of 117 metres. The V117 platform is particularly suited to withstand extreme extreme wind conditions, according to Vestas. The company has not confirmed the hub height for the turbines to be supplied, but the model is available with hub heights of 85 and 91.5 metres and has consent to be built up to a permitted tip height of 155 metres.

Although this is not the the largest UK onshore wind farm, it will be the biggest built in a single phase and have the largest energy output, SSE Renewables claims, due to the strong winds of the North Sea.

Paul Cooley, director of capital projects at SSE Renewables said the Vestas contract represented a significant gain for Viking.

“Viking will be the largest onshore wind farm in the UK by output and will bring significant economic opportunities to Shetland and beyond including the ambition by Vestas to establish a Shetland-based service team providing high quality employment and apprentice opportunities.”

Once built, the Viking project will create 35 permanent jobs.