Wind farm project owners have confirmed work will commence on Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm this year. The announcement follows board approval for £2.6 billion project financing.

The 558MW offshore wind farm will be one of the largest private infrastructure projects ever built in Scotland. It is expected to be generating electricity by 2019.

Paul Cooley, Director of Renewables at SSE, stated: “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 such as the Scottish Government, DECC, HIE, the Highland Council, Moray Council and local communities. Contracts have already been placed with many UK based suppliers, and Siemens intend to undertake turbine blade construction from Siemen’s new manufacturing facility in Hull.

“Around £10m of investment is planned at Wick Harbour to house the wind farm’s operations and maintenance facilities and improving the existing RNLI facilities. We expect a peak of around 65 jobs during construction of the O and M base with around 90 long-term jobs anticipated during the operational phase.

RenewableUK’s Chief Executive Hugh McNeal said:

“It’s terrific to see another multi-billion pound international investment in our global-leading offshore wind industry.

“We now know that by 2020, 10% of the UK’s electricity will be generated by offshore wind farms, securing jobs and investment all over our country”.

Beatrice Offshore Windfarm Limited (BOWL) is a partnership between SSE Renewables, Repsol Nuevas Energias UK and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners. The site is located in the Outer Moray Firth on the north-western point of the Smith Bank, 13.5km from the Caithness coastline. The development, once fully constructed and operational, could provide energy equivalent to the needs of approximately 477,610 homes.