The 6MW machine, a large-rotor version of the turbines installed at Dong's Gunfleet Sands wind farm off England last year, uses a direct-drive transmission system powered by a 154-metre-diameter rotor.

Business development body Scottish Enterprise, which manages the Hunterston site with SSE, is inviting expressions of interest for leasing of the last berth, targeting switch-on by July 2015.

Concrete pouring for the foundation of the second of three berths at the Clydeport centre – leased to Mitsubishi for its 7MW SeaAngel flagship – got underway last week after knock-on delays linked to soil geology at the coastal site.

Hunterston