First there was oil.
In 1980, a small oilfield of three platforms began operating around 24km from the Caithness coastline.
The Beatrice Oil Field - as it became known - was discovered and developed by Mesa Petroleum and named after Mesa founder T. Boone Pickens' wife.
The daily production of around 8,000 tonnes of oil was piped to the nigg Energy Park in the Cromarty Firth for storage and shipment.
By the early 2000s, the challenge of climate change brought added urgency to the need to develop new renewable sources of energy.
Then wind.
In 2007, two 5MW demonstrator wind turbines were installed near to the Beatrice Oil Field as part of a venture between SSE and Talisman Energy (UK), evaluating the feasibility of building a commercial scale offshore wind farm in deep water at a reasonable distance from the point of grid connection.
The evaluation project was to last for five years and the electricity generated was fed to the nearby Beatrice Alpha oil platform.
Successful deployment.
The deployment and operation of the demonstrator turbines was successful and in 2009, development work on the 'new' Beatrice offshore wind farm began.
With and extensive coastline and significant wind resource, a larger Beatrice would be able to generate clean electricity free from carbon dioxide and in a highly efficient way.
Applications submitted.
An application for an offshore wind farm with up to 277 wind turbines was submitted in April 2007, with planning permission in principle given in October of that year.
And, in 2009, the Crown Estate awarded seabed exclusivity to the then development partnership of SSE Renewables and SeaEnergy Renewables.
HISTORY
TIMELINE
29 July 2019
Beatrice is officially opened by HRH The Prince Charles, Duke of Rothesay
May 2019
£20m restoration for Wick Operations and Maintenance Base and harbour works complete
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31 May 2019
Beatrice reached 587.9MW (out of 588MW) of wind powered output
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15 May 2019
The last of the 84 Siemens Gamesa wind turbines is installed by the Pacific Orca heavy lifting vessel
25 February 2019
3/4 of the 84 turbines are now installed
December 2018
1/2 of the wind turbines safely installed
21 August 2018
Offshore cable installation completed
19 July 2018
First power exported from Beatrice to the National Grid
14 July 2018
First Siemens Gamesa wind turbine installed by the Swire Blue Ocean installation vessel 'Pacific Orca'
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11 July 2018
Final jacket substructure installed by the 'Oleg Strashnov' installation vessel
May 2018
Turbine components begin to arrive at Nigg marshalling and construction yard ahead of deployment offshore
April 2018
Last of the two Offshore Transformer Modules installed
February 2018
The first of the turbine blades are manufactured at the Siemens Gamesa plant in Hull
February 2018
The first of the two Offshore Transformer Modules leaves Rosyth and is installed on site
December 2017
Last of the 344 foundation piles installed by the Heavy Lifting vessel 'Stanislav Yudin'
November 2017
Work begins on re-purposing the disused corner of Wick harbour with slipway removal being the first activity
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August 2017
First of the 86 jacket substructures is installed
April 2017
First of 344 foundation piles installed marking the start of offshore construction
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March 2017
Renovation of two Thomas Telford buildings in Wick begins, which will become the long term operational base
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October 2016
Breaking of the ground near Portgordon, Moray, marks the start of onshore cable installation work
May 2016
Construction begins at the Beatrice Blackhillock substation
May 2016
Financial close providing the green light for the construction of Beatrice to begin
2014
UK Government awards planning consents
2012
Consent applications submitted
2009
Development of Beatrice begins