714MW offshore wind farm in UK commissioned
ScottishPower Renewables and the Green Investment Group (GIG) have fully commissioned the 714 MW East Anglia One offshore wind farm in UK waters.
All 102 Siemens Gamesa offshore wind turbines – situated 43km off the Suffolk coast – are now fully operational, with the capacity to produce 714 MW of clean energy. Each year, the park will produce enough renewable energy to power the equivalent of more than 630,000 homes.
Around 20 percent of the turbine installation and around half the turbine connection work was completed during the lockdown. This included switching to a higher number of smaller vessels, creating crew ‘households’ who lived and worked together at all times, introducing new welfare protocols, and minimizing crew changes.
This comprehensive approach allowed the project to be completed on time, creating a source of vital green energy to keep homes, businesses, and communities powered during the crisis and beyond. East Anglia ONE will now play a major part in contributing to the UK’s target of meeting Net Zero by 2050.
Charlie Jordan, East Anglia ONE Project Director at ScottishPower Renewables, said: “The final commissioning of East Anglia ONE is an incredible milestone for us and our project partners, as well as our wider stakeholders, the East Anglian region and the whole of the UK. And it comes at a crucial time as the UK takes it first steps towards a green economic recovery.
Edward Northam, Head of GIG Europe, commented: “East Anglia ONE is a reminder that the UK continues to lead the world in the successful delivery of offshore wind projects, and I’m proud of the role that Green Investment Group has played, and continues to play, in supporting and funding the development of this market. We remain committed to accelerating the UK’s energy transition and believe offshore wind will be at the heart of the UK’s net zero energy system.”
East Anglia ONE, a joint venture between ScottishPower Renewables and Macquarie’s Green Investment Group (GIG), is a GBP2.5 billion (US$3.12 billion) project and the first of four offshore windfarms ScottishPower Renewables is developing in the region.
