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Masdar and ScottishPower Renewables said in a joint announcement that they have completed installation of all 95 foundations and transition pieces at the East Anglia THREE offshore wind farm located off the Suffolk coast. The monopiles, weighing 1,200 to 1,800 tonnes each and measuring 67 to 84 metres in height with diameters up to 10.6 metres, represent the largest to be installed from a jack-up vessel anywhere in Europe. Transition pieces standing 20 metres tall, 8 metres wide and weighing over 400 tonnes have also been fully placed, according to the partners, as turbine installation proceeds apace.
With the foundations secured, the companies stated that offshore and onshore construction will continue over the coming months to enable full operations by the end of 2026 and the delivery of 1.4 gigawatts of clean power. Husain Al Meer, executive director for global offshore wind and UK at Masdar, said in the announcement, “The completion of foundation installation at East Anglia THREE is a significant milestone and a remarkable engineering achievement. It reflects the strength of our partnership with ScottishPower and the expertise of the project team and contractors, particularly Seaway7, who are working together to deliver one of the UK’s largest offshore wind farms.” He added that East Anglia THREE is Masdar’s first 50:50 offshore wind joint venture in the UK and forms an important part of its long-term commitment to the UK offshore wind industry.
More than 200,000 tonnes of steel have been anchored into a seabed area the size of almost 43,000 football pitches, the partners reported in the statement, while installation of the 95 turbines with 115-metre blades crosses the halfway mark. Charlie Jordan, ScottishPower Renewables CEO, said in the announcement, “East Anglia THREE is our biggest windfarm ever and the completion of the foundation installation is a true engineering triumph.” He noted that the partners are not just powering millions of homes with homegrown renewable electricity but are also investing almost £2 billion in the domestic supply chain, supporting thousands of jobs during construction and around 100 jobs during the windfarm’s lifetime.
The foundation installation was delivered by Seaway7 using its jack-up vessel Seaway Ventus, which completed its first such campaign on the project, the announcement stated. Lloyd Duthie, CEO of Seaway7, said in the statement, “We are proud to have supported ScottishPower Renewables and Masdar in reaching this important milestone for East Anglia THREE. The completion of the foundation installation campaign reflects the strength of collaboration and demonstrates what can be achieved when experienced teams work together with a shared commitment to delivering the energy transition.” Seaway7 continues to progress the installation of inter-array cables, according to the release.
East Anglia THREE is the second project to be developed as part of Masdar and Iberdrola’s €15 billion strategic partnership and the first with ScottishPower in the UK, the companies noted. The nearly £2 billion invested in the UK supply chain includes foundation design by Wood Thilsted, manufacturing of the turbine blades at Siemens Gamesa’s factory in Hull, vessel charters from Norfolk-based NR Marine Services and OEG, and support from metocean and seabed consultants Partrac. The project is supporting 2,300 jobs during construction and will create around 100 long-term roles in the East of England.
Offshore Energies UK has reported that the country needs to deliver at least 5 gigawatts of new offshore wind capacity each year from 2026 to 2030 to meet its clean power goals. With the United Kingdom holding 14.7 gigawatts of installed offshore wind capacity and another 13.3 gigawatts in construction or committed, according to Ember data, East Anglia THREE’s 1.4 gigawatts will help address the shortfall of more than 20 gigawatts needed by 2030 to reach targets of 43 to 50 gigawatts. Once operational the facility will produce enough homegrown clean power for more than 1.3 million homes while strengthening the UK’s energy security.
