Work on Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind farm gains speed

A 650-metre cable-sized pipe has been installed, linking East Lothian with the North Sea, as part of construction work for the Neart na Gaoithe (NnG) offshore wind farm located 15.5 kilometres off the Fife coast.

Onshore construction for NnG started in December 2019 while offshore work started in August this year. Picture: Peter Devlin.

NnG’s two cables carrying power 38km from the wind farm will be buried under the seabed before going through the pipe, eventually connecting with the onshore cable close to Thorntonloch Beach.

The onshore cable will then run underground along a 12.3km route to the onshore substation and grid connection at Crystal Rig wind farm in the Lammermuir Hills.

Drilling is now set to start to bring the second offshore cable on to the connection point onshore, and both cables will be fully installed next year. Onshore construction for NnG – jointly owned by EDF Renewables UK and ESB, and whose name means “strength of the wind” – started in December 2019 while offshore work started in August this year.

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