The £3bn Seagreen project is due for completion in the North Sea in 2022/23 and will be one of the UK’s largest sources of renewable energy, powering over a million homes.
LONDON, UK, 19th January 2021 Neos Networks, one of the UK’s leading connectivity providers, has today announced it will provide the communications infrastructure for what will be Scotland’s largest offshore wind farm.
Once complete in 2022/23, Seagreen offshore windfarm will be capable of generating 1075MW from its 114 North Sea turbines – enough to power 40% of all Scottish homes. A joint venture partnership between SSE Renewables and Total is investing £3bn into the project, with onshore construction already underway and offshore construction due to get underway later this year.
Having been selected to spearhead the project following a competitive tender process, Neos Networks will be responsible for the installation of a comprehensive Wide Area Network (WAN) between the substation at Tealing, Dundee, and the operations centre in Montrose. The connection will provide offshore wind farm engineers based at Montrose with the visibility of supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) and technical equipment at Tealing needed to manage the distribution of power to the substation. This will maximise the operational efficiency of Seagreen and help it remain compliant from regulatory and health and safety perspectives.
The role of Neos Networks will be to facilitate the flow of data between the offshore wind farm’s planned substation and onshore operations centre, to allow for crucial data analysis. By enabling the transfer of data between on and off-shore sites, the UK telco will be providing access to important insights into power, temperature and energy trends.
Today’s announcement forms part of Neos Networks’ significant network expansion programme. The UK telco is committed to supporting the roll-out of business connectivity projects that will help futureproof the country and drive the nation’s digital ambitions.
Paul Clark, SSE Relationship Director at Neos Networks, said having reliable connectivity was essential to help support the smooth running of such a large-scale windfarm:
“Telecoms infrastructure companies like ours play a vital role in keeping businesses connected and their operations functioning properly. Given the complexity of this project, our vast experience in developing critical infrastructure projects will be essential. We’re also able to bring our expertise gained from other renewables projects to bear, as well as our access to cutting edge technologies.
“We have already delivered logistical support on 19 wind farms within SSE Group’s portfolio, so we look forward to supporting efforts to get Seagreen up and running. We are also proud to support the overall Seagreen offshore wind farm project which will play a huge role in helping the UK meet its Net Zero targets as well as provide an estimated £1bn boost to the nation’s economy.”
Mick McCaffery, Seagreen Systems Project Manager, added the experience of Neos Networks in servicing complex offshore renewables sites made it the best fit for Seagreen:
“Neos Networks has a strong pedigree in delivering wind farm network infrastructure and a comprehensive understanding of the consequences, should a wind farm become un-operational. As such, we are confident they will bring the necessary experience and expertise to deliver a solution that will help prevent such a scenario. We’re pleased to have a partner of this calibre on board, which will undoubtedly be to the benefit of the region and the country at large.
“The UK needs to be generating 40GW of offshore wind power by 2030 to contribute toward Net Zero targets, so projects with the scale and ambition of Seagreen will be vital components of that low carbon vision.”
