Moray East offshore wind farm

What Moray East offshore wind farm does

Moray East is a 950MW offshore wind farm located in the outer Moray Firth, approximately 22km off the northeast coast of Scotland, consisting of 100 Vestas V164-9.5MW turbines installed in water depths of around 50m on three-legged steel jacket foundations. The asset is supported by three offshore substation platforms (transforming 66kV to 220kV), three offshore export cables totalling roughly 185km, an 86km cable corridor, and an onshore substation at New Deer, Aberdeenshire, connecting to the National Grid. The transmission infrastructure (OFTO) was divested to Transmission Capital Partners in February 2024 under a 23-year Ofgem-regulated contract.

Moray East is a private UK limited company (Moray Offshore Windfarm (East) Limited), jointly owned by Ocean Winds (56.6%), Diamond Green Limited (33.4%, itself backed by Inpex, Kansai Electric Power, and Mitsubishi), and China Three Gorges (10%). Ocean Winds, the 50/50 EDP/ENGIE joint venture, leads development and operates the wind farm from a dedicated O&M base at Fraserburgh Harbour. Development rights were secured in 2010 through Crown Estate Scotland's Round 3 seabed leasing, planning consent was awarded in 2014, and the project reached financial close in December 2018 with £2.6 billion of project finance. Construction ran from 2019 through 2021, with first power exported to the grid in June 2021 and all 100 turbines installed by September 2021.

Revenue is generated under a 15-year Contract for Difference (CfD) awarded by the UK Government in September 2017 at a strike price of £57.50/MWhr in 2012 prices — at the time, the lowest of any new renewable generation in the UK, approximately two-thirds less than incumbent offshore wind farms. The asset is designed to power over one million UK homes and abate 1.7 million tonnes of CO2 annually. Moray East's customer base is effectively a single off-taker (National Grid) within a regulated utility framework, with no meaningful churn risk during the CfD term.

Name

Moray East offshore wind farm

Legal name

Moray Offshore Windfarm (East) Limited

Website

https://morayeast.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Moray East is a 950MW UK offshore wind farm in the outer Moray Firth, operating 100 Vestas turbines under a 15-year government-backed CfD. It supplies renewable electricity to the National Grid, powering over 1 million homes and is owned by Ocean Winds, Diamond Green Limited, and China Three Gorges.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Offshore Wind Energy Generation

NAICS

Wind Electric Power Generation (221115), Electric Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution (2211)

akta.pro primary industry

Offshore Wind Power Generation (Fixed-Bottom) (EUACAFAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Wind Farm Ownership & Operations (IPP/Utility-Owned Asset Operations) (EUACAFAF), Offshore Wind Substructures & Marine Engineering (Monopiles, Jackets, Floating) (EUAMACAE), Wind Grid Interconnection & Power Systems (Transformers, Reactive Power, SCADA) (EUAMACAK)

Keywords

• Offshore wind energy
• Renewable power generation
• Wind farm operations
• Electricity transmission
• Green energy infrastructure

Headquarters

HQ city

Edinburgh

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Contract for Difference (CfD) Revenue: Moray East generates revenue by selling electricity to the National Grid under a 15-year Contract for Difference (CfD) awarded in September 2017. The CfD guarantees a strike price of £57.50/MWhr (in 2012 prices), providing revenue certainty for the project. This is a fixed-price long-term contract, not consumption-based.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Moray East operates a 950MW offshore wind farm in the outer Moray Firth, approximately 22km off the northeast coast of Scotland, comprising 100 Vestas V164-9.5MW turbines installed on jacket foundations in 50m water depth. The generated electricity is stepped up at three offshore substations and transmitted via export cables to the onshore New Deer substation, where it enters the National Grid under a 15-year Contract for Difference at £57.50/MWhr.

Product overview

Moray East is a single offshore wind farm project - not a platform with multiple modules - consisting of 100 Vestas V164-9.5MW turbines (total capacity 950MW) with three offshore substation platforms and associated transmission infrastructure. The project is operated and maintained by Ocean Winds from Fraserburgh Harbour. Core components include the turbine array, three offshore substation platforms (transforming 66kV to 220kV), and a transmission system connecting to the National Grid via an underground cable corridor to New Deer substation. Additional services include supply chain registration and operational/maintenance services provided from the project's Fraserburgh base.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Moray East Offshore Wind Farm (950MW) 950MW offshore wind farm located in the outer Moray Firth approximately 22km off the northeast coast of Scotland, comprising 100 Vestas V164-9.5MW turbines and three offshore substations, generating renewable electricity injected into the National Grid. Capable of meeting the average electricity needs of over 1 million UK homes.
• Operations and Maintenance Services Ongoing operations and maintenance services delivered by Ocean Winds from a purpose-built base on Fraserburgh Harbour, covering performance monitoring, preventive maintenance, and emergency response coordination for the 100 turbines and three offshore substations.
• Supply Chain Registration Portal Supplier registration portal operated via Ocean Winds, enabling companies to register for consideration in Moray East's ongoing operational and maintenance supply chain.

Quantifiable outcome

• Cuts the cost of offshore generation from £140/MWhr to £57.50/MWhr - a reduction of almost two thirds
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship, key contractor and supporting.

• Transmission Capital Partners (TCP)coreOthers · 22 February 2024TCP consortium (Transmission Investment, Amber Infrastructure, INPP) was selected by Ofgem through competitive tender to own and operate the OFTO transmission infrastructure for 23 years. This is mandatory under UK legislation for offshore transmission assets.
• Ocean WindsflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerOcean Winds (a joint venture between EDP and ENGIE) led the development of Moray East and currently operates and maintains the wind farm from Fraserburgh Harbour. Ocean Winds holds 56.6% of the project consortium.
• DEME Offshorekey contractorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerDEME Offshore was responsible for installing the pin piles, jackets, and offshore substation platforms. Used jack-up vessel 'Apollo' and later 'Seajacks Scylla' for installation works.
• Siemenskey contractorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSiemens was the lead contractor for designing and manufacturing the offshore substation platform containers and electrical infrastructure. Also responsible for the onshore substation at New Deer and export cables.
• Vestaskey contractorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerVestas supplied and installed the 100 V164-9.5MW turbines. Turbine components were pre-assembled at Port of Nigg before offshore installation.
• NKTkey contractorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerNKT manufactured approximately 185km of 220kV AC offshore export cables and installed them using the cable-laying vessel 'Victoria'.
• Global Energy (Port of Nigg)key contractorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerGlobal Energy's facility at Port of Nigg served as the onshore marshalling port for turbine components, jackets, and pre-assembly operations.
• Smulderskey contractorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSmulders fabricated the 55 lower jacket sections in Newcastle and mated them with upper sections from continental Europe at their Wallsend facility.
• Port of Cromarty FirthsupportingImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPort of Cromarty Firth served as the intermediate port during construction. Included over £1m storage deal for piles and piling template, plus £10m contract for turbine component storage.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Ørsted: Global offshore wind leader operating Hornsea, Borssele, and many other large wind farms; broad incumbent in the same industry space with overlapping UK footprint.
• RWE Renewables: Operates Sofia, Triton Knoll, Greater Gabbard and a global offshore/onshore wind portfolio; broader incumbent with comparable UK offshore wind assets.

Direct peers

• East Anglia ONE: 714MW UK offshore wind farm operated by ScottishPower Renewables (Iberdrola); comparable as a CfD-supported UK offshore wind farm of similar vintage.
• Hornsea 2: 1,320MW UK offshore wind farm operated by Ørsted, adjacent to Hornsea 1; comparable scale, CfD structure, and grid connection model.
• Greater Gabbard: 504MW UK offshore wind farm jointly owned by SSE and RWE; comparable as a UK operational offshore wind asset feeding into National Grid.
• Hornsea 1: 1,218MW UK offshore wind farm operated by Ørsted; directly comparable as a large-scale UK offshore wind asset with CfD support and National Grid connection.
• Sofia Offshore Wind Farm: 1,400MW RWE-operated offshore wind farm on Dogger Bank with a CfD; directly comparable as a large, recently-built UK offshore wind asset with 15-year revenue support.
• Equinor (Hywind Scotland): Equinor's Hywind Scotland is a UK offshore wind asset (pilot floating); comparable as a UK offshore wind operator, although smaller and floating rather than fixed-bottom.
• Moray West Offshore Wind Farm: Sister project also developed and operated by Ocean Winds in the adjacent Moray Firth zone. Closest comparable by geography, ownership structure, and supply chain footprint.
• Triton Knoll Offshore Wind Farm: 857MW RWE/Statkraft UK offshore wind farm with CfD support; comparable in scale (~near 950MW), technology mix, and UK regulatory framework.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/oceanwinds
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/moray-east

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Moray East offshore wind farm