The ship carrying the last batch of suction bucket jackets for the Seagreen project in Scotland departed from Gaolan Port on Sept 18 and will arrive at its final destination in mid-November, marking the delivery of all 34 Zhuhai-made sets of the world's deepest suction bucket jackets. 

The Seagreen project, constructed by Jinwan-based Offshore Oil Engineering (Zhuhai), is located 27 km (17 miles) off the coast of Angus in eastern Scotland, where the water depth is between 53 to 58 m (174 to 190 ft). It is the largest offshore wind plant with a fixed base in Scotland and the deepest one of its kind around the world. 

Vessel carrying the last batch of suction bucket jackets for the Seagreen project in Scotland departs from Gaolan Port [Photo by Liu Cong / Guanhai App]

The project is expected to generate 500 billion watt-hours of renewable energy per year, providing sufficient clean electricity for nearly two thirds of Scotland's households. 

Its first phase contains the construction of 114 wind turbines and relevant supporting facilities for power transmission. Among them, the 34 suction bucket jackets weigh around 70,000 metric tons, equivalent to the steel structure of 10 Eiffel Towers. Each of the suction bucket jackets is more than 93 m (305 ft) in height, which is similar to a 33-floor building, and will function as the base of the offshore wind plant.

Phase I of the Seagreen project is scheduled to begin operation in the first half of 2023, with a designed annual power generation capacity of 1,075 megawatts.

Jiang Haitao, Seagreen's project manager, noted that the project is located in the North Sea in Europe, which boasts a harsh environment, and that the construction must meet various strict standards, such as the European, Det Norske Veritas (DNV), and Norsk Sokkels Konkuranseposisjon (NORSK) standards.