19 January 2021: One of the UK’s leading connectivity providers, SSE Enterprise Telecoms, has been appointed to provide communications infrastructure to support what will be Scotland’s largest offshore wind farm, the 1075MW Seagreen.
Under the contract, which has been secured following a competitive tender process, SSE Enterprise Telecoms will be responsible for the installation of a comprehensive Wide Area Network (WAN) between the Seagreen substation at Tealing, Dundee, and the offshore wind farm’s operations centre in Montrose.
SSE Enterprise Telecoms will facilitate the flow of data between the offshore wind farm’s planned substation and onshore operations centre to allow for crucial data analysis. By enabling the transfer of data between on and off-shore sites, the UK telco will be providing access to important insights into power, temperature and energy trends.
The connection will provide offshore wind farm engineers based at Montrose with the visibility of supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) and technical equipment at Tealing needed to manage the distribution of power to the substation. This will maximise the operational efficiency of Seagreen and help it remain compliant from regulatory and health and safety perspectives.
Mick McCaffery, Seagreen Systems Project Manager, said the experience of SSE Enterprise Telecoms in servicing complex offshore renewables sites made it the best fit for Seagreen:
“SSE Enterprise Telecoms has a strong pedigree in delivering wind farm network infrastructure and a comprehensive understanding of the consequences, should a wind farm become un-operational.
"As such, we are confident they will bring the necessary experience and expertise to deliver a solution that will help prevent such a scenario. We’re pleased to have a partner of this calibre on board, which will undoubtedly be to the benefit of the region and the country at large.
“The UK needs to be generating 40GW of offshore wind power by 2030 to contribute toward Net Zero targets, so projects with the scale and ambition of Seagreen will be vital components of that low carbon vision.”
Paul Clark, SSE Relationship Director at SSE Enterprise Telecoms, added having reliable connectivity was essential to help support the smooth running of such a large-scale windfarm:
“Telecoms infrastructure companies like ours play a vital role in keeping businesses connected and their operations functioning properly.
"Given the complexity of this project, our vast experience in developing critical infrastructure projects will be essential. We’re also able to bring our expertise gained from other renewables projects to bear, as well as our access to cutting edge technologies.
“We have already delivered logistical support on 19 wind farms within SSE Group’s portfolio, so we look forward to supporting efforts to get Seagreen up and running.
"We are also proud to support the overall Seagreen offshore wind farm project which will play a huge role in helping the UK meet its Net Zero targets as well as provide an estimated £1bn boost to the nation’s economy.”
Seagreen is a £3bn offshore wind farm development owned by SSE Renewables (49%) and joint venture partner, Total (51%).
Situated over 27km from the Angus coastline at its closest point, the project will be capable of powering up to 1 million homes each year with low carbon, renewable energy.
Once complete, the project will be capable of generating 1075MW from its 114 North Sea turbines and will inherit Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm’s title of Scotland’s largest offshore wind farm.
SSE Renewables is leading on the development and construction of the project, supported by Total, and will operate the asset on completion, which is expected in 2022/23.