Electricity has been generated for the first time at the Burbo Bank Extension Offshore Wind Farm, DONG Energy has announced. The project is a joint venture between DONG Energy (50%), PKA (25%) and KIRKBI A/S (25%).
With the initial wind turbines having recently been installed, power from the first turbine is now being exported to the U.K. national grid. According to DONG Energy, this marks the first time the MHI Vestas 8 MW wind turbines have been used commercially offshore.
“First power is a key milestone for us because it proves that every part of the transmission and generation equipment is successfully working,” says Claus Bøjle Møller, program director of the Burbo Bank Extension Program.
Once all 32 turbines are in place – expected in the first quarter of 2017 – the wind farm will be capable of generating up to 258 MW of electricity, which is enough capacity to meet the annual power demands of approximately 230,000 U.K. homes, according to DONG Energy.
Construction of Burbo Bank Extension, located 7 kilometers off Liverpool Bay, is being managed from DONG Energy’s facilities at Cammell Laird Shipyard site in Birkenhead by a team of around 90 people.
Work is also under way on an operations and maintenance facility in King’s Wharf, Seacombe, to serve the two DONG Energy wind farms in the area.
