Burgeoning wind and marine energy giant ScottishPower Renewables has committed to developing the 714 MW East Anglia ONE offshore wind farm.
ScottishPower Renewables, a part of Spanish utility Iberdrola, is one of the leading onshore wind and marine developers in the UK, and a growing offshore wind energy force globally. As part of this, the company announced its final investment decision this week to invest in the 714 MW East Anglia ONE offshore wind farm, set to be developed off the east coast of England.
Most importantly, ScottishPower Renewables is hailing the project as “the best value offshore wind farm in the world” which will deliver power to the equivalent of 500,000 households in Suffolk and Norfolk at the low price of £119 MWh — more than 15% lower than other offshore wind farms under construction in the UK.
Plans for the wind farm expect it to be completed and fully operational by 2020, providing up to 3,000 jobs during construction, and spending at least 50% of the total £2.5 billion investment in the UK — specifically, ScottishPower has promised the project will bring substantial investment to the East Anglia region, including a £25 million deal with the Port of Lowestoft, which will serve as the home of the wind farm for over 30 years.
“East Anglia ONE will deliver substantial environmental benefits for the UK, it will stimulate considerable UK investment, and it will support thousands of jobs,” explained Charlie Jordan, ScottishPower Renewables East Anglia ONE project director. “Offshore wind has proven itself as a technology that works, and the more offshore wind capacity we have in the UK, the more secure our energy supplies will be.
“East Anglia has some of the best conditions anywhere in the world for the development of offshore wind, and we are fully committed to the region, with future developments already in the pipeline,” Jordan continued. “ScottishPower Renewables is leading the way with its approach of actively working towards a target of at least 50% UK supply chain content over the lifetime of the East Anglia ONE project. We have already worked with a wide range of companies across East Anglia and we look forward to working with many more.”
This continues the recent strong growth in the UK’s offshore wind industry, which most recently saw DONG Energy commit to build the mammoth 1.2 GW Hornsea One offshore wind farm, which is located not far north of East Anglia ONE.
The East Anglia Zone is also recently famous for the discovery of a lost WWI German submarine which was discovered as a result of advanced scans for developing East Anglia ONE.
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