Spanish wind turbine manufacturer Norvento has begun construction on a 200 kW twin-turbine site at Shoreham Port on the U.K.’s south coast. The two nED100, 100 kW turbines will cover the energy needs of the on-site pump house, providing the EcoPort with a means of further reducing its carbon footprint.
Norvento’s turbines will feed electricity into Shoreham Port’s pump house, directly supporting the energy-intensive process of maintaining water levels in the basins of the port despite changes in the tide. The pump house requires 475,000 kWh of energy per year on average, and according to Norvento, the turbines will more than cover this demand, producing an average of 555,000 kWh per year.
The nED100 turbines will also ensure increased flexibility for these operations by compensating for voltage fluctuations caused during the start-up of the pumps, says Norvento.
The site has been funded by means of a long-term lease agreement, which will see Norvento lease the two harbor-front sites and sell Shoreham Port the energy produced by the turbines at a rate substantially lower than typical retail electricity prices. Over the 20-year timeline of the deal, Shoreham Port is set to save tens of thousands of pounds in energy costs when combined with existing rooftop solar panels, according to Norvento.
“Medium-scale wind turbines have demonstrated a wide variety of applications for industrial and agricultural institutions and are increasingly becoming a cheaper and more flexible energy source than the traditional options,” says Ivo Arnús, director of U.K. business development at Norvento.
The nED100 turbines adhere to the IEC 61400-1 design standard for safety and reliability and are equipped with a low-noise mode, enabling the turbines to operate in the vicinity of homes and local businesses, says Norvento. These factors were instrumental in security planning permission for the project in March 2015.
