OWC and Empire Engineering to support Ayre and Bowdun offshore wind farm

OWC and Empire Engineering have been selected to provide owner’s engineering services at the Ayre and Bowdun offshore wind farms, supporting Thistle Wind Partners (TWP), a consortium composed of DEME, Qair and Aspiravi, from concept selection through to further design phases.

The 1 GW Ayre floating offshore wind farm is located 33 km from the nearest inhabited point on Orkney – Deerness in the E3 leasing zone, off the east coast of Scotland. It will cover an area of approximately 200 square kilometres. The 1 GW bottom-fixed Bowdun offshore wind farm will cover an area of 187 square kilometres and is located approximately 44 km from the coast of Aberdeen.

The renewable energy consultancy OWC will serve as the owner’s engineer for both offshore wind farms, managing three technical areas: cables and onshore civil and electrical works, wind resource assessment and layouts, and wind turbine generators (WTGs), in addition to overseeing overall project management. Meanwhile, Empire Engineering will be responsible for providing owner’s engineering services specifically for the foundation packages of both wind farms.

Empire Engineering’s responsibilities encompass reviewing and preparing essential technical documents, including the employer’s design basis and requirements for design, fabrication, and installation. The company will also offer technical assistance during concept selection workshops, evaluate EPCI cost benchmarks, analyze contractor proposals and commercial conditions, and scrutinize key design deliverables.