The first of 32 giant wind turbines, each almost twice as tall as the Royal Liver Building, has been successfully installed at the £1.3bn Burbo Bank Extension offshore wind farm at the entrance to the Irish Sea.
Advertisement
The 32 turbines, made by Vestas, will each be able to generate 8 megawatts (MW) of electricity, stand 195 metres tall from sea level and have a rotor diameter of 164 metres.
According to A2SEA, this is the first time ever that the biggest turbine on the market – the MHI Vestas 8 MW – has been installed offshore.
Upon commissioning scheduled in 2017, the project will generate electricity required power over 230,000 United Kingdom homes annually.
“The installation of this world-first technology shows that DONG Energy is leading the way in offshore wind energy”, said Claus Bøjle Møller, Project Director at DONG Energy.
DONG Energy owns 50% stake in the project while Danish pension provider PKA and Lego Group’s parent firm Kirkbi hold 25% stakes each.
“Using larger turbines is a critical part of the industry’s drive in getting costs down”, Sykes said. “This first turbine is a significant achievement for the project, and we’re looking forward to producing the first green energy later this year”.
First V164-8.0 MW turbine installed at Burbo Bank Extension.
Advertisement
Burbo Bank Extension is located in the Irish Sea seven kilometers (four miles) from the coast of Liverpool, and it covers an area of 40 square kilometers (15 square miles). The first turbine out of the 32 MHI Vestas 8MW turbines was installed by the crew on board SEA INSTALLER. The wind farm is expected to be fully commissioned in the first half of 2017.
