Recently, the United Kingdom’s wind industry celebrated the world’s largest offshore wind farm, and switched it on. The Walney wind farm is the name. It comprises 102 turbines and has an electricity generation capacity of 367 MW, enough to provide power for about 320,000 homes.
The wind project was led by a joint venture between Danish energy giant DONG, UK utility SSE, and investment group OPW.
“DONG Energy is delighted that our record-breaking project is now fully operational, providing clean energy from the UK’s abundant wind resources directly into the grid,” said Benj Sykes, DONG Energy’s director of operations for UK wind power.
“Walney is the first project in the UK to be backed by institutional investors before it was built — a confidence justified by the speed and efficiency of the construction. It shows our commitment to offshore wind development in the UK and to driving down costs.”
Another sign of progress: DONG energy announced that the project was completed in record-breaking time. All turbines and cables were installed in five and a half months.
Jim Smith, SSE’s managing director for renewables, said the project was “a great example of how much offshore wind has matured as an industry in a relatively short time,” adding that it would now play a role in curbing the UK’s carbon emissions and enhancing its energy security for years to come.
This is an impressively large project. however, it will be quickly surpassed by larger ones, such as the 388-MW West of Duddon Sands project and the whopping 630-MW London Array.
Source: BusinessGreen
Image Credit: Walney wind farm via Moggy443
I don't like paywalls. You don't like paywalls. Who likes paywalls? Here at CleanTechnica, we implemented a limited paywall for a while, but it always felt wrong — and it was always tough to decide what we should put behind there. In theory, your most exclusive and best content goes behind a paywall. But then fewer people read it! We just don't like paywalls, and so we've decided to ditch ours. Unfortunately, the media business is still a tough, cut-throat business with tiny margins. It's a never-ending Olympic challenge to stay above water or even perhaps — gasp — grow. So ...
Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News!
Have a tip for CleanTechnica, want to advertise, or want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.
