London Array
| London Array Offshore Wind Farm | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Country | England, United Kingdom |
| Location | 7 miles (11 km) off North Foreland, Kent |
| Coordinates | 51°38′38″N 01°33′13″E / 51.64389°N 1.55361°ECoordinates: 51°38′38″N 01°33′13″E / 51.64389°N 1.55361°E |
| Status | Operational |
| Construction began | March 2011 |
| Commission date | October 2012 |
| Construction cost | £1.8 billion (€2.2 billion) |
| Owner(s) | DONG Energy (50%) E.ON UK Renewables (30%) Masdar (20%) |
| Developer(s) | London Array Limited |
| Turbine information | |
| Turbines | 341 x 3.6MW |
| Manufacturer(s) | Siemens Wind Power |
| Wind farm information | |
| Type | Offshore |
| Distance from shore | 7 mi (11.3 km) |
| Power generation information | |
| Installed capacity | 630 MW |
| Maximum capacity | 1,000 MW |
| As of April 2013 | |
The London Array is an offshore wind farm under construction in the outer Thames Estuary in the United Kingdom. With 1,000 megawatt (MW) nameplate capacity, it is expected to become the world's largest offshore wind farm.[1] The site is more than 20 kilometres (12 mi)[2] off the North Foreland on the Kent coast in the area of Long Sand and Kentish Knock, and will cover 90 square miles (230 km2)[citation needed] between Margate in Kent and Clacton in Essex. The first foundation was installed in March 2011[3] and phase I, comprising 175 turbines delivering a capacity of 630 MW, was confirmed fully operational on 8 April 2013[4] at a cost of £1.8 billion (€2.2 billion).[5][not in citation given]
Contents |
Description [edit]
The first phase consists of 175 [6] SWT-3.6 turbines and two offshore substations, giving a wind farm with a peak rated power of 630 MW.[7] The turbines and offshore substations are each being erected on a monopile, and will be connected together by 210 kilometres (130 mi) of 33 kV array cables. The substations will be connected to a new onshore substation near Graveney (near Faversham) on the north Kent coast, by 220 kilometres (140 mi) of 150 kV subsea export cable.[8]
Contractors [edit]
Turbines will be supplied by Siemens Wind Power.[7] Their foundations are built by the joint venture between Per Aarsleff and Bilfinger Berger Ingenieurbau. The same company supply and install monopiles.[8] Generators will be installed by MPI and A2SEA by using an installation vessel TIV MPI Adventure and a jack-up barge Sea Worker.[9] Two offshore substations will be designed, fabricated and installed by Future Energy, a joint venture between Fabricom, Iemants and Geosea, while electrical systems and onshore substation work will be undertaken by Siemens Transmission & Distribution. The subsea export cable will supply by Nexans and array cables by JDR Cable Systems. The array cables and the export cables will be installed by VSMC.[8]
Developer [edit]
Ownership is 50% DONG Energy, 30% E.ON UK Renewables and 20% Masdar.[10] The wind farm was planned to be built by London Array Limited, a consortium of Shell WindEnergy Ltd, E.ON UK Renewables and DONG Energy.[11] In May 2008, Shell announced that it was pulling out of the project.[12] It was announced in July 2008 that E.ON UK and DONG Energy would buy Shell's stake.[13] Subsequently on 16 October 2008, London Array announced the Abu Dhabi-based Masdar would join E.ON as a joint venture party in the scheme. Under the agreement, Masdar purchased 40% of E.ON's half share of the scheme, giving Masdar a 20% stake in the project overall.[14]
Financial support and timetable [edit]
In March 2009, the backers agreed on an initial investment of €2.2 billion.[15] Offshore work was due to start in February 2011 and the proposed completion date for the first stage is in 2012. The second stage (bringing the revised total to 217 turbines) will add enough capacity to generate 1,000 MW for 750,000 homes.[14][16]
Financing of phase 1 have been achieved through the European Investment Bank and Danish Export Credit Fund with £250 million.[10]
The wind farm started producing electricity at the end of October 2012.[17]
References [edit]
- ^ London Array official site
- ^ Eyre, Edward Crosthwaite (16 November 2010). Preliminary Information Memorandum: London Array (Phase 1) Offshore Transmission Assets. UK Ofgem. p. 3. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
- ^ London Array site First foundation March 2011
- ^ "Hip Hip Array-World's largest offshore wind farm goes fully operational" (Press release). RenewableUK. 8 April 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
- ^ "London Array – the world’s largest operational offshore wind farm" (Press release). London Array. 8 March 2013. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
- ^ Nathan, Stuart (25 June 2012). "The Big Project: London Array". The Engineer. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
- ^ a b "Siemens to provide 175 wind turbines for the world’s largest offshore wind farm London Array" (Press release). Siemens AG. 2009-05-19. Retrieved 2010-07-14.
- ^ a b c "Trio hand out London Array prizes". Upstream Online (NHST Media Group). Retrieved 2010-01-01.
- ^ "London Array signs final major installation contracts for phase one" (Press release). London Array. 2010-02-04. Retrieved 2010-07-14.
- ^ a b Jensen, Mette Buck. DONG borrows GBP 250mio Ing.dk, 9 June 2010. Retrieved: 9 June 2010.
- ^ London Array project introduction
- ^ Shell pulls out of key wind power project, Financial Times, 01 May 2008
- ^ "E.ON and DONG Energy become 50:50 partners in world’s largest offshore wind farm" (Press release). The London Array. Retrieved 2008-08-16.
- ^ a b "E.ON and Masdar have joined forces as partners in the London Array offshore wind farm project" (PDF) (Press release). The London Array. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
- ^ Teather D, "Thames offshore wind farm gets green light from investors", The Guardian, 13 May 2009
- ^ UK's London Array Given Green Light
- ^ Bradbury, John (2012-11-05). "First power from London Array". Offshore.no International (Offshore Media Group). Retrieved 2012-11-05.
External links [edit]
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