UK: Gwynt y Môr OWF Exports First Electricity

Gwynt y Môr Offshore Wind Farm has officially generated and exported its first electricity, on track to become the second largest operational offshore wind farm in the world.

The milestone builds on other recent good news for developer RWE npower renewables (RWE), its project partners, and the wider offshore wind industry. First generation at Gwynt y Môr follows the inauguration of the 140 turbine Greater Gabbard Offshore Wind Farm, a joint venture between RWE Innogy and SSE and consent for the offshore components of the company’s Triton Knoll Offshore Wind Farm, off the east coast of England.

Gwynt y Môr is a €2billion offshore wind farm jointly financed by RWE Innogy; Stadtwerke München GmbH, Munich’s municipal utilities company; and Siemens. It consists of 160 turbines, and is being constructed off the North Wales coast. The wind farm is on schedule to become fully operational in 2014, when it will be capable of generating enough energy from renewable sources to power the equivalent of approximately 400,000 homes – around a third of the total number of homes in all of Wales.

Following the official generation of the wind farm’s first ever ‘green power’, project director Toby Edmonds praised the team and the partnership behind the delivery of the project so far.

He said: “This is a remarkable day. Gwynt y Môr has celebrated a number of significant achievements within the industry throughout its construction to date but this tops them all.

“This day signals the most significant step to date towards bringing online a highly capable renewable energy source, powered from the UK’s own freely available natural resources and able to support approximately 400,000 homes.

“We’re delighted to have reached this milestone and we are in great shape to achieve full operation in 2014.”

Dr. Florian Bieberbach (CEO) of Stadtwerke München, added: “Generation of the first ever kilowatt hour of energy from offshore wind is an important milestone both for Gwynt y Môr and for ourselves.

“The green energy generated by offshore wind farms is an important part of the Renewable Growth Strategy of Stadtwerke München. Our target is to cover the total electricity demand of the city of Munich from own renewable generation by 2025. The green energy generated by Gwynt y Môr, will make a significant contribution to this goal.

“Stadtwerke München would expect to make further investments in the offshore sector, including in Germany, in the future but for this to happen we need to have a stable environment and secure investment.”

Clark MacFarlane, Siemens Managing Director, UK Offshore Wind Power, explained: “This is a very important milestone for one of Europe’s largest wind farms. The industry is continuing to develop as this and other major offshore developments come to fruition.

“Siemens plays an important role in the Gwynt y Môr Offshore Wind Farm – from its role as funding partner, to supply and installation of 160 3.6MW turbines, the design and engineering of the offshore substations and long term Operations and Maintenance services. This is a key project for us and we are delighted to have played a part in helping this major wind farm achieve first power.”

Gwynt y Môr will make an important contribution towards the UK’s overall drive for power from domestic renewable sources, to offset the current reliance on imported fossil fuels, such as natural gas and oil. During its construction to date, Gwynt y Môr has enabled the injection of over £350million into the UK supply chain, been responsible for creating and securing employment for over 2,500 people in the UK, and expects to sustain over 110 jobs long term, from a new multi-million pound operations and maintenance base, which will be built in North Wales.

At the same time, North Wales Communities have been consulted on how to most usefully invest over £19million in benefits over the wind farm’s working
lifetime – a topic crucial to Welsh and UK government in the delivery of energy policy. A number of local tourism-generating projects are also being supported to the tune of £690,000 from a separate pot.

[mappress]

Press release, August 30, 2013; Image: RWE