Caledonia is a 2GW project being developed in the Moray Firth, and one of the few ScotWind sites scheduled to be operational by 2030.

Developer, Ocean Winds, is laying the groundwork for its comprehensive environmental impact assessment (EIA), a key element in the consenting process, following the project's survey programme across the 429sq.km site.

"The information we are gathering from these surveys will provide an in-depth and reliable picture of the site, including the export cable corridor, above and beneath the waves, and extending to flora, fauna and other crucial data sets," Sarah Graham, Caledonia Offshore Wind Farm head of engineering, said.

We will have an unrivalled level of visibility to help optimise and de-risk Caledonia

"Combined with the experience, understanding and information we have gathered through the development of Ocean Winds' neighbouring Moray East and Moray West sites, we will have an unrivalled level of visibility to help optimise and de-risk Caledonia going forward," she added.

Ocean Endeavour

Gardline vessel Ocean Endeavour was mobilised at the start of March 2023 to conduct full surveys of the offshore export cable route in addition to further reconnaissance in the wind farm array area.

Sediment from deep borehole samples from across the Moray Firth site will provide crucial geotechnical data to allow further planning of the 2GW project's engineering design and installation phases.

"Ocean Winds has built a robust data catalogue of the Moray Firth throughout its decade-long presence in the area. Our goal now is to build a clear picture of the ground conditions across the Caledonia site area to inform the engineering design of the project.

Seabed profile

"The work will create a better understanding of the shape and profile of the seabed, water depths and technical constraints, and will be used to inform wind farm design, cable routing and installation, as well as landfall site selection," Graham added.

"The end result of this work will be a better project, perfectly placed to help Scotland and the UK meet 2030 offshore wind targets."

The proposed Caledonia Offshore Wind Farm is adjacent to Ocean Wind's operational Moray East development and its under-construction Moray West project, which is due to be up and running early in 2025.

Got a story? Email: duncan.moore@aspermont.com