Wood Thilsted will use the extensive ground and metocean data that has been gathered across the 429 km² Caledonia site over the past two years to produce modelling for the preferred concept for the foundation designs.
The engineering team will also benefit from the experience of Ocean Winds’ two other neighboring projects—the operational Moray East and under construction Moray West, which is nearing completion having recently achieved first power.
Caledonia Project Director Mark Baxter said: “Caledonia is uniquely positioned to benefit from knowledge and understanding accumulated over the two decades that Ocean Winds has been investing in the Moray Firth. The excellent work from our previous projects ensures we have exceptional insights to optimize and de-risk the design from an early stage, supporting our delivery of this important ScotWind project and the UK’s 2030 offshore wind ambition.
“Although we are in deeper waters, some of the soil conditions at Caledonia are very similar to Moray East, where we have used an optimized jacket design. Moray West is constructed with extra-large monopiles—which push the global industry limit on size—providing cost and efficiency benefits in fabrication.
“We have in-depth experience of design, marshalling and installation of both jackets and monopiles in the Moray Firth: the modelling during this phase will enable us to examine various solutions and determine the best design option for the site and the environmental conditions.”
The design work, which is due to be completed by the end of the year, will also support Caledonia’s initial engagement with the supply chain on foundation fabrication and installation. Onshore and offshore consents for the project are due to be submitted in the autumn.
Simon Beckett, Wood Thilsted’s Edinburgh-based Project Owner, said: “We are really pleased to be able to support Ocean Winds for this ambitious project. We are delighted to work with the Caledonia team to help them optimize their foundations with our cutting-edge design approaches and the rigorous assessment of the site conditions being led by our local team in Edinburgh.”
Ocean Winds has worked with Wood Thilsted on projects in Poland and the United States.
