WINDFARM UPDATES: Barrow & Burbo Bank Extension, Hornsea Project One, Humber Gateway & Kentish Flats Extension

Barrow & Burbo Bank Extension

DONG Energy has become sole owner of the 90MW Barrow Offshore Wind Farm. In December the company announced that it acquired the remaining 50% ownership interest from its joint venture partner Centrica plc. The Barrow wind farm has been in full operation since 2006.

Another announcement by the Danish company in December concerned the final investment decision for the Burbo Bank Extension located 8km off the coast in Liverpool Bay. The company had received development consent from the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change in September.

Burbo Bank Extension will have a total capacity of 258MW from 8MW turbines. DONG Energy placed the first commercial order for 32 of MHI Vestas V164-8.0 MW, the world’s most powerful wind turbine. It is expected to be commissioned in 2017 supplying green power to approximately 180,000 UK households.

Hornsea Project One

In December the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change granted development consent for the Hornsea Project One offshore wind farm to DONG Energy and SMartWind, a consortium of Mainstream Renewable Power and Siemens Financial Services. DONG Energy was awarded Financial Investment Decision Enabling Contracts for Difference by the Government in April 2014. Hornsea Project One is located 120km off the Yorkshire coast covering an area of approximately 407km2. OW1_single page.jpg 64 2It is the first development proposed within the Hornsea Zone to receive development consent. It will consists of up to 3 wind farms with a possible up to 1.2GW of combined capacity, and is the first gigawatt wind farm to be developed.

The DECC official press release stated: “The consent allows the construction and operation of up to 332 wind turbines, up to 2 offshore accommodation platforms, up to 5 offshore HVAC collector substations, up to 2 offshore HVDC converter stations, an offshore HVAC reactive compensation substation, subsea inter-array electrical circuits, a marine connection to the shore approximately 150km in length, a foreshore connection and from the proposed landfall point at Horseshoe Point, onshore cables which will connect the offshore wind farms to the onshore electrical transmission station and the connection from there to National Grid’s existing substation at North Killingholme, a distance of approximately 40km.”

The project is scheduled to commence operation by 2020. When fully commissioned the wind farm could provide green energy to around 800,000 households.

Humber Gateway

Turbine installation work continues on E.ON’s 21 9MW Humber Gateway wind farm, located around 8km offshore from Easington, off East Yorkshire’s Holderness Coast. Two thirds of the 73 MHI-Vestas V112-3MW turbines that are scheduled have been installed. The offshore substation was installed by the b e/9/y> z¥«<1 z at the end of October. When in full operation the wind farm will be powering around 170,000 households with green energy each year.

OW1_single page.jpg 64 3Kentish Flats Extension

In Q4 of 2014 the first offshore activities started at Vattenfall’s Kentish Flats Extension project, located on the southern side of the Outer Thames Estuary, immediately adjacent to the Kentish Flats Offshore Wind Farm which has been in operation since 2005. Fifteen Vestas V112-3.3 MW turbines will be installed in an area covering approximately 7.8km².

Preparation work started for the installation of the cables which are planned for this summer. Two export cables will be installed alongside the existing cables for Kentish Flats with the land fall near Hampton Pier, Heme Bay. Up to 12km of inter-array cables will be installed to connect the turbines.

In November Bohlen S Doyen completed preliminary offshore jetting work along the export and array cable routes. Another activity that started in November was the laying of concrete mattresses for protection where the export cables will be crossing the existing export cables. The mattresses are provided by Great Yarmouth based Subsea Protection Systems.

In the meantime construction of the 15 monopile foundation structures has also started by the Belgian manufacturer Smulders. Offshore installation is planned to start in May.

Completion of the wind farm is planned for the end of this year. When fully operational Kentish Flats Extension will provide up to 35,000 households with green energy.