Dong to build record UK offshore wind farm

Danish energy company Dong Energy will build what it claimed was the world’s largest offshore wind farm, located 120km off the Yorkshire coast, UK.

The Hornsea Project One offshore wind farm, which will be capable of powering over 1 million UK homes, will have a capacity of 1.2GW, claims to be the first offshore windfarm to exceed 1GW in capacity.

The company said the multi-billion pound project would create around 2,000 jobs during its construction phase, as well as 300 additional jobs throughout its operational phase.

Hornsea Project One will span an area of approximately 407km², and the wind farm will use 7MW wind turbines, with each one 190m in height.

Siemens has been named as the preferred supplier for the wind turbines, while a £25 million (€32.6 million) contract has also been awarded to Balfour Beatty for the construction of the onshore substation.

Dong Energy is the sole owner of Hornsea Project One after acquiring the 66.66% ownership share of SMart Wind in February 2015. The company also has the project rights to Hornsea Project Two and Hornsea Project Three, which have the potential of 3GW of offshore wind power capacity in total.

Hornsea Project One is expected to be fully commissioned in 2020.

Brent Cheshire, Dong Energy UK’s country chairman, said, “We are making a major financial investment to construct this giant wind farm, and this underlines our commitment to the UK market.”

Amber Rudd, the UK’s Secretary of State for Energy & Climate Change, said, “This project means secure, clean energy for the country, jobs and financial security for working people and their families, and more skills and growth boosting the Northern Powerhouse”.