British Prime Minister opens world's largest wind farm

David Cameron called the London Array  "a big win for is renewable energy" because it shows that we can "have renewable energy projects at scale... right here in Britain".

Yesterday saw the launch by Prime Minister David Cameron of the world’s largest offshore wind power plant, the London Array, located in the Thames estuary, approximately 20 kilometres off the Kent and Essex coast.

Owned, developed and built by a consortium consisting of Dong Energy, E.ON and Masdar (Abu Dhabi’s state backed renewable energy company), it has a total capacity of 630 megawatts (MW) and will generate enough power to supply 500,000 British households with clean electricity.

It is estimated to reduce annual CO2 emissions by approximately 900,000 tons, equivalent to the emissions of 300,000 passenger cars. Construction involved over 75 organisations and 6,700 people.

The London Array consists of 175 wind turbines supplied by Siemens, who also made the grid connection. Dong Energy and Siemens will be responsible for the service of the wind turbines through a long-term agreement.

DECC said that companies from all over the UK had benefited, "with construction supplies ranging from cable manufacturing in Yorkshire to boats from Brightlingsea to wind towers from Scotland".

Speaking at the launch, the Prime Minister used the occasion to back wind power and overseas investment in Britain, calling it "a triple win".

“First of all it’s a huge win for Kent. This project has been built by some of the bravest seaman, some of the most talented engineers, some of the hardest workers, and it’s going to continue to bring benefits to people in Kent for many, many years to come," he said.

He added that it's certainly "a big win for is renewable energy" because it shows that we can "have renewable energy projects at scale... right here in Britain".

Thirdly, he said it proved that Britain can "do big projects", citing also "a superb Olympics", Crossrail, "the biggest construction project in Europe", London Gateway, "the biggest port construction taking place in Europe", and "here you have the biggest offshore construction anywhere in the world. I think this demonstrates Britain is a great place to invest,” he concluded.

Energy Secretary Ed Davey called it “a bulk generator of power feeding into the diverse mix on our grid. It’s attracted billions of inward investment into our economy".

He added that the reforms outlined in the Energy Bill are intended to make sure that more projects like this come about.

Other massive projects (a total of 15 GW) are already in the pipeline, such as Teesside, Gwynt y Mor off the coast of North Wales and West Of Duddon Sands off the north west coast of England.

At Gunfleet Sands, off the Essex coast, the next generation of even more powerful offshore turbines is being tested in the water for the first time anywhere in the world.

At the end of March, the 75th and final turbine was installed at Lincolnshire's windfarm off the coast of Skegness, which has the capacity to power more than 200,000 homes.

Speaking at the opening, RenewableUK’s Chief Executive, Maria McCaffery, said: “The Prime Minister’s ringing endorsement of Britain’s offshore wind industry is a real boost for the entire renewable energy sector, which is a key growth area for the British economy.

“We’re about to witness a massive expansion in the number of people we employ in the wind industry onshore and offshore, from about 12,000 now to 76,000 by the dawn of the next decade, as long as Government remains supportive – today Mr Cameron has assured us that it will”.

The UK is expecting that offshore wind farms will help it reach its legally-binding targets to cut carbon emissions, with an aim of developing 18 gigawatts by 2020.

Offshore wind power's double good news

Offshore wind power not only increased by 50% in the last year, but last Thursday saw its biggest ever order for new turbines in the UK.

In a deal worth around £2.3 billion, Dong Energy has ordered 300 giant Siemens wind turbines for use off the coast of Britain. Siemens will design, manufacture, supply, install and service the turbines, while Dong will own and operate the wind farms, and sell the electricity in the UK.

Siemens expects to build many of the turbines in Hull, which means that a planned £210 million factory will probably now be constructed, with the creation of 700 jobs; the rest of the turbines will be built in Denmark.

Siemens' huge, more efficient, new generation designs have a nominal capacity of six megawatts, with rotor blades 75 metres long. Michael Suess, head of its energy division, said strong winds off the coast of the UK allowed them to generate 40% more power than onshore winds.

This increased productivity offsets the higher cost of building them, which is typically at least twice that of onshore wind farms. Seuss said “we are working to further reduce the costs for this environmentally friendly form of power generation”.

So far, Dong's biggest working turbines are Siemens 3.6 MW. But turbines won't stop growing at 6 MW: Siemens is already working on a 10 MW unit.

The total capacity of Dong's order will be 1,800 MW. Dong will install the first two 6 MW units at its Gunfleet Sands wind farm near Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, later in the year. Forty of the turbines are destined for the 240 MW Westermost Rough site, which is near the Humber estuary, and which will be operational in 2014.

Others could go in the Walney wind farm near Morecambe Bay and the planned extensions of the Burbo Bank offshore wind farm beyond the Mersey Estuary.

Siemens and Dong collaborate on several UK offshore wind farms including the one gigawatt London Array off the Thames Estuary, the world’s largest offshore wind farm.

The exact number of turbines that will be commissioned is dependent on decisions being taken in Whitehall. However, if Dong fails to buy the full number cited in the order, it must pay a penalty to Siemens.

Record breaking year for offshore wind

In other good news that signifies the strength of the sector, Europe increased its offshore wind capacity by 50% in the first half of 2012 compared to the year before.

132 new offshore wind turbines with a capacity of 523 MW were fully connected to the grid in that period, compared to 348.1 MW in the same period in 2011, according to new figures released by the European Wind Energy Association.

Moreover, the number of turbines constructed was 95% up on the same period in 2011, at 103 units in five wind farms. This brings the total of operating offshore wind capacity in Europe to 4,336 MW as of 30 June 2012, up from 3,294 MW over the year, supplying electricity equivalent to the requirements of four million homes.

In addition, 13 wind farms are under construction which, when completed, will add an extra 3,762 MW, almost doubling today's amount.

Christian Kjaer, chief executive of EWEA, called the figures a triumph in the face of economic adversity. “Offshore wind power is increasingly attracting investors, including pension funds and other institutional and corporate investors,” Kjaer said in a statement.

“But it would be good to see more activity in southern Europe where jobs, investments and growth are desperately needed."