Dong Energy, a large European energy company, has received full consent to test Siemens’ new 6-MW offshore wind turbines. It will install two test turbines at its Gunfleet Sands wind farm in South East England. This will mark Dong’s first UK demonstration project and the first time this large wind turbine will be tested offshore.
Notice how small the man in this picture looks.
Notably, you might remember, REpower and C- Power NV were the first to install a 6-MW wind turbine from any company offshore — they did so just last month at the Thornton Bank II wind farm off the coast of Belgium. And Scotland is also looking to soon install a test 6-MW offshore wind turbine. As Charis mentioned when announcing that, this wind turbine (and I presume the others mentioned above) is big enough to land a helicopter on!
Regarding the Dong Energy installation of Siemens’ 6-MW turbine, Dong Energy writes:
“The new turbines will be installed by November this year with construction starting in May, and will be connected through a dedicated export cable. DONG Energy will be looking to verify turbine performance, reliability and functionality. The Gunfleet Sands 3 demonstration project is located 8.5 km south east of Clacton on Sea.”
“The Gunfleet Sands 3 demonstration project marks an important step in industry’s efforts to reduce the cost of energy. The Round 3 projects in the UK are in deeper waters and will have a much bigger capacity than existing wind farms so the technology will increase in capacity as well. This demonstration project aligns with DONG Energy’s ambitions to steer development in the wind industry towards industrialisation to make offshore wind power even more competitive.”
Source: Dong Energy
Images: Siemens
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