Race Bank, a 573 MW offshore wind farm capable of powering over half a million U.K. homes, officially opened on Wednesday
Race Bank is owned by Ørsted (50%); Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 5 (25%); Sumitomo Corp. (12.5%); and funds advised by the Green Investment Group, Arjun Infrastructure Partners and Gravis Capital Management (12.5%).
The project, comprising 91 Siemens Gamesa 6 MW wind turbines, is located off the North Norfolk coast and is operated from Ørsted’s East Coast Hub in Grimsby, the U.K.’s largest offshore wind operations and maintenance base, according to Ørsted.
Ørsted notes that the project features a new way of carrying out offshore maintenance: It uses a service operation vessel that remains offshore; technicians work shifts of 14 days on and 14 days off.
“Powering over half a million homes every year, Race Bank is another positive step towards delivering the U.K.’s decarbonized energy system of the future,” says Matthew Wright, managing director at Ørsted U.K.
“The delivery of this landmark project has set new standards for construction safety and speed and marks a significant milestone in the U.K.’s transition to a low-carbon economy,” says David Tilstone, managing director at Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets.
Race Bank is the the 10th U.K. offshore wind farm that Ørsted either owns or partly owns. Together, these projects provide over 3 GW of clean energy – enough to power 2.7 million U.K. homes. Globally, Ørsted has installed more than 1,200 offshore wind turbines with a total capacity of approximately 4.4 GW and has a further 4.5 GW under construction.
