Vattenfall commences planning process for 3.6 GW wind farms in the eastern North Sea

Vattenfall has announced it commences the planning process for two wind farms in the eastern North Sea, 47 kilometers off the Norfolk coast in England.

The first project, Norfolk Vanguard, will start in 2016 and will become Vattenfall's largest wind project so far. The second project, Norfolk Boreas, follows one year later. Together the two projects will have a installed capacity of 3.6 GW (1.8+1.8), enough to supply electricity to 2.6 million British households.

Gunnar Groebler, Head of Vattenfall Wind, said: 

"We are very pleased to have been given a green light to develop this northern part of the large East Anglia region. It will deliver a substantial increase of electricity for the UK, and will also enable Vattenfall to continue expanding its focus on renewable energy production."

Norfolk Vanguard contributes to Vattenfalls ambition to triple its wind power capacity to 7 GW across Northern Europe by 2025. The permit application for Norfolk Vanguard will be submitted in summer 2018 but not until 2020, the precise number and size of the turbines can be determined.

Vattenfall and ScottishPower Renewables have been collaborating since 2010 with developing wind power in East Anglia Development Zone. However, Norfolk Vanguard and Norfolk Boreas will be developed by Vattenfall alone.

Norfolk Vanguard will be one of the United Kingdom's largest offshore wind farms. The largest offshore windfarm in UK today is London Array outside the coast of Kent, with 175 turbines and 630 MW installed capacity. Vattenfall's largest offshore wind farm today is Thanet, UK (300 MW).