Construction begins on €4.7bn offshore wind farm off UK coast

The installation of all 95 turbines is expected to be completed by early 2026 (Photo: ScottishPower Renewables)

Measuring 83.89 metres in height, 10.6 metres in diametre, and weighing 1,800 tonnes, the monopile is said to set a new record for the offshore wind industry as “the largest one installed to date from a jack-up vessel in Europe”.

Charlie Jordan, CEO of ScottishPower Renewables, said, “The installation of our first East Anglia Three foundation is a real wow moment for both ScottishPower and Iberdrola. It represents a mammoth feat of engineering, skill and a huge amount of work. We’re talking an incredible 1800 tonnes of steel, safely and securely lifted and then precisely placed in the exact spot in an area the size of almost 43,000 football pitches. We’ve never built anything of this scale before.”

The monopile, manufactured by the Joint Venture Navantia Seanergies Windar Renovables (JVNW), has been installed using the Seaway Ventus jack-up installation vessel. This marks the first of 95 monopiles being produced for the 1.4 GW wind farm, which is the largest within the ScottishPower and Iberdrola portfolios.

JVNW is responsible for fabricating 45 of these monopiles, while the remaining 50 will be manufactured by Haizea.

Each monopile will measure between 67 and 85 meters in length, have a diameter of up to 10.6 meters, and weigh between 1,200 and 1,800 tonnes. These foundations will support 95 Siemens Gamesa turbines, each with a capacity of 14.7 MW, collectively generating a total of 1,400 MW of clean energy—enough to power over 1.3 million homes.

The installation of all 95 turbines is expected to be completed by early 2026.