East Anglia has strengthened its position as a center for renewable energy with the completion of the East Anglia ONE offshore wind farm.
All 102 Siemens Gamesa offshore wind turbines – situated 43 km off the Suffolk coast – are now fully operational, with the capacity to produce 714 MW of energy.
Around 20% of the turbine installation and around half the turbine connection work was completed during the COVID-19 lockdown, with ScottishPower Renewables and its project partners transforming how they worked to get the job done. This included switching to a higher number of smaller vessels, creating crew ‘households’ who lived and worked together at all times, introducing new welfare protocols and minimizing crew changes.
This comprehensive approach allowed the project to be completed on time, creating a source of green energy to keep homes, businesses and communities powered during the crisis and beyond. In addition to the significant impact the wind farm will have on the U.K.’s low carbon future, the site has already brought major benefits to the local economy, regional jobs market and the wider U.K. supply chain.
Almost 3,500 jobs were sustained during the construction phase, which began in 2017, while 100 long-term skilled jobs have been created at the operations and maintenance base in Lowestoft.
ScottishPower Renewables co-invested £5 million in Peel Ports Great Yarmouth to prepare it for construction and marshaling activity. Over the course of the project, more than half of the project’s supply chain has come from the U.K. market, exceeding the commitments made as part of its successful bid for contract for difference funding.
“The final commissioning of East Anglia ONE is an incredible milestone for us and our project partners, as well as our wider stakeholders, the East Anglian region and the whole of the U.K. It comes at a crucial time as the U.K. takes its first steps towards a green economic recovery,” says Charlie Jordan, East Anglia ONE project director at ScottishPower Renewables.
East Anglia ONE, a joint venture between ScottishPower Renewables and Macquarie’s Green Investment Group (GIG), is a £2.5 billion project and the first of four offshore wind farms ScottishPower Renewables is developing in the region.
The completion of this project brings the total capacity of U.K. offshore wind supported by Macquarie and GIG to over 5.7 GW, across 14 projects.
For more information about the East Anglia ONE wind farm, click here.
