The 4,550-tonne offshore substation built for the 350MW Wikinger wind farm departed last weekend from Cadiz in Southern Spain and is now en route to the installation site in the German part of the Baltic Sea.
The journey is expected to last for around three weeks, according to ScottishPower Renewables and Iberdrola, whose engineers helped mastermind the departure of the substation.
The substation, known as Andalucía, was built by Navantia at the Puerto Real shipyard.
It is the first offshore substation to include two topsides, as it will also be used by 50Hertz, the electricity system operator in this region of Germany, to support further offshore wind developments. It is also the first offshore substation designed using a six-legged pre-piled jacket.
The Wikinger offshore wind farm will consist of 70 wind turbines, each with a capacity of 5 MW, at a site spanning an area of approximately 34 square kilometres.
The project is scheduled to go online at the end of 2017.
Photos: ScottishPower Renewables