State-owned Dong Energy is proceeding with plans to construct the world’s largest offshore wind farm in 2018.
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The Walney Extension Offshore Wind Farm, about 19 kilometers into the Irish Sea, has already been cleared by authorities, and DONG Energy has finished assessing the site and signing most supply and installation contracts, the company said.
The new wind farm is expected to be fully commissioned in 2018, at which time it will be the biggest offshore wind farm in the world, surpassing the 630 MW London Array Offshore Wind Farm which was commissioned in 2014 by Dong Energy and its partners.
When completed, the Walney Extension will be the world’s biggest offshore wind farm.
The project will feature two different wind turbines – 40 8MW turbines from MHI Vestas Offshore Wind and 47 7MW Siemens turbines.
The wind farm will be constructed and operated under the U.K.’s Electricity Market Reform Final Investment Decision regime and will have a fixed price for the first 15 years of production.
The United Kingdom is banking on offshore wind to help meet its goals to reduce carbon emissions and boost its use of renewable power sources. Wind projects have largely avoided subsidy cuts brought on by Prime Minister David Cameron’s conservative party, which won the election in May, with these cuts having affected a number of other clean energy projects. Service for the plant will be provided jointly by Siemens and DONG Energy for a period of five years. Moreover, turbines are known to impede bird migration routes and cause fatal collisions with the rotors.
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Aside from environmental factors, this latest project could have substantial economic benefits. “I’m also excited about the fact that turbine blades, part of the foundations and cable installation will come from United Kingdom manufacturing facilities and vessels and create local jobs”.
