The Robin Rigg Wind Farm, built by E.ON in the Solway Firth, was Scotland’s first offshore wind farm. Located on a sandbank between the Galloway and Cumbrian coasts, it began generating power in 2009 and was fully operational by April 2010. The £380 million project marked an early milestone in the UK’s offshore wind expansion.

The site consists of 60 Vestas V90 turbines, each rated at 3 MW, giving a total capacity of 174 MW — enough to power about 117,000 homes. Electricity is transmitted to shore via two 132 kV Prysmian export cables, with operations managed from the Port of Workington. Around 40 local staff support the wind farm, with nearby companies providing maintenance, vessel, and support services.

Robin Rigg operates with high reliability, achieving 98% availability in its first year. It was also the first UK offshore wind farm to join the OFTO regime, transferring ownership of its cables and substation to Transmission Capital and Amber Infrastructure in 2011 — a model later adopted across the industry.