Empire Engineering and OWC 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.
Empire Engineering will provide owner’s engineering services for the foundation packages of both offshore wind farms, while renewable energy consultancy OWC will act as owner’s engineer for the remaining packages (comprising cables, onshore civils and electricals); wind resource and layouts; and wind turbine generators (WTGs) and overall project management.
Foundation Package
Empire Engineering’s scope of work includes the review and drafting of key technical documentation, such as the employer’s design basis and employer’s requirements for design, fabrication, and installation. The company will also provide technical support during concept selection workshops, benchmark EPCI costs, assess contractor proposals and commercial terms, and review critical design deliverables.
In addition, Empire Engineering will undertake independent technical reviews and adequacy assessments, ensuring alignment with certification standards and bankability requirements across all phases of the projects. This appointment reflects Empire Engineering’s proven expertise in both floating and fixed-foundation systems, supporting the successful delivery of two landmark projects that will contribute significantly to Scotland’s offshore wind targets.
Owner’s Engineer (Electrical, Wind Resource, WTG) & Project Management Packages
OWC has been appointed as owner’s engineer for the remaining packages of the Ayre and Bowdun offshore wind farms. In addition, OWC has been entrusted with overall owner’s engineer project management responsibility across both projects.
Delivered from OWC’s Glasgow office, the work will be carried out by an integrated interdisciplinary team, drawing on the expertise of specialists in project management, integration and delivery, electrical systems, cables, onshore civils, wind and site conditions, WTGs, geoscience, metocean, and operations and maintenance (O&M), with additional transport and installation (T&I) support from sister company ABL.
With one floating project and the other bottom-fixed – the latter pushing the bounds of achievable water depth – both present cutting-edge technical and commercial challenges that are ideally suited to OWC’s global experience and capability in offshore wind.
About Ayre & Bowdun
The 1 GW Ayre floating offshore wind farm is located 33 kilometres 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 kilometres from the coast of Aberdeen.
“Together, the Ayre and Bowdun offshore wind farms will deliver 2GW of offshore wind capacity, bringing us a step closer to Scotland’s offshore wind targets. Each project presents differing design requirements across floating and fixed-foundation technologies. By awarding the foundation lot to Empire Engineering, we’re engaging a team with proven expertise and the practical insight needed to support successful delivery as the projects move into their next phase,” says Lee Goulding, TWP ‘s engineering and technical director.
Benoit Briere, head of floating wind at Empire Engineering, says:
“We’re proud to be supporting Thistle Wind Partners as owner’s engineer for the foundation package on the Ayre and Bowdun offshore wind farms. With both floating and fixed-foundation systems involved, these projects bring unique technical challenges – the kind our team is passionate about solving. It’s a privilege to contribute to projects that will play a meaningful role in Scotland’s energy transition.”
“We are very pleased to be working together with Empire Engineering to deliver owner’s engineering services across these two complex, ground breaking projects in Scotland. It’s our mission to support the holistic optimisation of the project design and delivery strategy from the pre-FEED stage towards implementation, paying close attention to risk identification and mitigation alongside facilitating the development of a sound business case,” says Kate Johanessen, OWC’s country manager in Scotland.
OWC is part of Oslo-listed ABL Group ASA, a global consultancy with a global presence in offices across the UK, Europe, the USA, Asia and Africa, with over 20 years of experience supporting offshore and onshore wind development globally.
For further information, please contact:
Chloe Lemonnier
Tel: +33 7 60 89 97 28
Email: clemonnier@empireengineering.co.uk
Endre Aaberg Johansen
Tel: +47 41 61 06 05
Email: endre.johansen@corpcom.no
About Empire Engineering
Empire Engineering is a specialist consultancy focused exclusively on offshore wind foundations for both wind turbine generators (WTG) and offshore substations (OSS), covering fixed and floating structures. With a team of 20 engineers based across the UK, France, and China, and over a decade of project experience, we have supported some of the world’s largest and most complex offshore wind developments. Our services include owner’s engineering, concept design, and specialised technical support.
About ABL Group
ABL Group (OSE: ABL Group ASA – ticker code “ABL”) is a leading independent global consultancy delivering energy, marine, engineering and digital solutions to drive safety and sustainability in renewables, maritime and oil and gas sectors. The group has offices in 43 countries worldwide and operates under four brands: ABL – the energy and marine consultants, AGR – the energy and software consultants, OWC – the renewable energy consultants, and Longitude – the design and engineering consultants.
