The world’s largest wind farm, which is being built by offshore wind power developer Dong Energy, is to progress following a final investment decision, it has been announced.
Commenting on the news, Brent Cheshire of DONG Energy said:
“This is a historic milestone for Hornsea Project One as we are now making a firm and final commitment to invest fully in the project.”
The offshore wind farm will be built 120 kms off the Grimsby coast; it will have the capacity to produce 1.2 gigawatts, and the ability to provide power for more than 1 million homes.
Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Amber Rudd, welcomed the news and stated:
“Thanks to Government support the UK is the world leader in offshore wind energy and this success story is going from strength to strength. Dong Energy’s investment shows that we are open for business and is a vote of confidence in the UK and in our plan to tackle the legacy of under-investment and build an energy infrastructure fit for the 21st century.”
Planning and Construction
Nearly 10 years of planning have already gone into the project, and years of development work have been conducted. Once the site has been constructed, it will stretch more than 407 km, the windfarm will be powered by 7 megawatts turbines, and they’ll each measure 190 metres in height.
UK company Siemens will be responsible for the production of the wind turbines, and it was announced in December 2015 that infrastructure firm Balfour Beatty will have responsibility for constructing the onshore substation.
Balfour Beatty began work on the construction in January 2016; the £25 million project will include cabling work and local infrastructure to help ensure the project’s success.
In addition, a high-voltage AC electricity will be built as part of the project; it will take 900 km of cables to enable the power to be fed to the National Grid.
Job Creation
The project is good news for employment figures in the North of England as it is estimated the project will create 2000 jobs during the construction phase, and a further 300 positions are expected to be created once the windfarm has been completed; the opening date is schedules for 2020.
Future Plans
Future plans from Dong Energy include a Hornsea Projects 2 and 3, which between them could produce an additional 3 gigawatts of power.