Danish utility Dong Energy has announced that it will be building the world’s largest offshore wind farm off the Yorkshire coast, UK.
Dong’s multi-billion pound Hornsea project will have a 1.2-gigawatt capacity—enough to power more than 1 million homes—making it the world’s first offshore wind farm to exceed one gigawatt in capacity.
The new wind farm, which will occupy more than 400 square kilometers and will be situated roughly 120km off the Yorkshire coast, is scheduled to be fully commissioned in 2020.
“Hornsea Project One is a world-leading infrastructure project being built right here in the UK,” said Brent Cheshire, DONG Energy UK’s country chairman. “It is ground-breaking and innovative, powering more homes than any offshore wind farm currently in operation.”
“To have the world’s biggest ever offshore wind farm located off the Yorkshire coast is hugely significant, and highlights the vital role offshore wind will play in the UK’s need for new low-carbon energy,” Cheshire added.
Increasing pressure is being placed on governments worldwide to transition to renewable energy sources. As a result, the UK has taken the lead in its advancements in offshore wind energy production in recent years. The UK has more installed offshore windfarms than any other country.
“The UK is the world leader in offshore wind energy and this success story is going from strength to strength,” Amber Rudd, UK secretary of state for energy and climate change, said. “The investment shows that we are open for business and is a vote of confidence in the UK and our plan to tackle the legacy of under investment and build an energy infrastructure fit for the 21st century.”
The new venture will support the supply chain and will create a large number of jobs opportunities—an estimated 3,000 jobs during the construction phase and an additional 300 permanent jobs—in the local area.
“We are making a major financial investment to construct this giant windfarm and this underlines our commitment to the UK market. Hornsea Project One will support the supply chain and help create local job,” said Brent Cheshire, chief executive of Dong Energy in the UK.
In the past year, all major renewable energy source received cutbacks in subsidies, with the exception of offshore wind. However, since the UK government ended subsidies from onshore wind last year, wind investors have become concerned for the industry.
“The potential investment into wind turbine manufacturing factories, much vaunted under the coalition government, has been called into question,” reports The Guardian.
In spite of this, Dong Energy, which has already invested £6bn into wind power in the UK, is expected to invest another £6bn in the wind energy in the UK by 2020.
“[This] is an important step in making this historic project a reality,” Maf Smith, deputy chief executive of RenewableUK, said. “It signals the start of creating a new landmark in the North Sea. Its size is guaranteed to bring a multitude of benefits to the UK, [such as] a huge amount of inward investment and the creation of local jobs. It will play an important part in meeting our commitments [under the Paris agreement on climate change and] help create the new energy infrastructure this country desperately needs.”
The project, which will take up an area larger than Malta, will be the first wind farm to be built so far from the shore. Offshore wind is considered more problematic than onshore wind, due to the fact that they require bigger and more robust turbines, higher levels of maintenance and greater installation costs. However, “the government is understood to favour offshore wind over onshore turbines owing to local objections on land,” reports The Guardian.
The projects 7-megawatt wind turbines will be manufactured by Siemens in its newly-built factory in Hull and Balfour Beatty, a UK infrastructure company, will construct the onshore substation. Onshore construction work for the project will start immediately, while offshore work is scheduled to begin in 2018. The company expects to generate power from the site in 2019 and will be fully commissioned by 2020.
Feature Image: Wikimedia Commons, Kim Hansen
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