Windfarm Update: Burbo Bank Extension, Dudgeon OWF, Hornsea Two & Three, Humber Gateway, KFE

Burbo Bank Extension

Works for the Burbo Bank Extension offshore wind project are already underway, with Offshore Structures (Britain), a joint venture between EEW Special Pipe Construction GmbH and Bladt Industries, completing the first can for one of the wind farm’s transition pieces in late August. OSB will fabricate 144 cans for 16 transition pieces. The total number of transition pieces for the project is 32, and the remaining 16 will be fabricated by Bladt Industries in Denmark, while EEW SPC will produce 32 monopiles in Germany.

In September, Tekmar Energy won a contract to provide its Teklink mechanical latch systems for the Burbo Bank Extension offshore wind farm. The company will deliver 65 systems including 1 export and 9 bellmouths. Burbo Bank Extension is located 8km off the UK coast in Liverpool Bay, next to the operational Burbo Bank offshore wind farm. With 32 turbines and a capacity of 258MW, it will be able to supply renewable energy to approximately 180,000 homes.

Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm

Dudgeon Offshore Wind Ltd has hired R G Carter construction company to build its O&M base, while Canyon Offshore Ltd has been contracted to provide a trenching solution for the wind farm’s inter array cables.

R G Carter will set up the new O&M base at Berth 9, next to the River Yare at the Great Yarmouth port. The construction already started in early July, and the base is scheduled to be completed by mid-2016.

VBMS Ltd, which in charge of Dudgeon’s export and inter array cabling work, will lay and bury the inter array cables and Canyon Offshore will use its jet trencher T1200, together with its hard ground trencher, iTrencher, to reach the target depth of cable burial. The systems, along with two remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), will be mobilized from the Grand Canyon support vessel. The Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm site is located 32km off the coast of the town of Cromer in North Norfolk and 20km to the north-east of the Sheringham Shoal Offshore Wind Farm.

Hornsea Projects Two & Three

Following the acquisition of 1.2GW Hornsea Project One in February, DONG Energy acquired project rights to Hornsea Projects Two and Three on 21 August. The two sites have an offshore wind capacity potential of 3GW. After the takeover of the Hornsea Zone from Mainstream Renewable Power and Siemens Financial Services, DONG Energy will be responsible for the development of the entire Hornsea Zone.

The Zone is located between 31 km and 190km off the Yorkshire coast and covers more than 4,000km2. It has a combined potential for development of more than 4GW of offshore wind capacity, enough to power over three million households.

Humber Gateway

On 24 September, Ofgem selected Balfour Beatty Equitix Consortium as the preferred bidder to own and operate the Humber Gateway offshore transmission link for the next 20 years.

The wind farm’s transmission assets are being tendered under Tender Round 3 and this completes the procurement of the round’s offshore transmission owner (OFTO) projects.

In June, the final turbine was put into operation and the entire offshore wind farm started generating electricity. Humber Gateway, owned by E.ON, is located 8km off the coast of Holderness, near Yorkshire. It has an installed capacity of 219MW and can supply power to up to 170,000 households.

Kentish Flats Extension

On 12 September, the final turbine was put into operation at Vattenfall’s Kentish Flats Extension offshore wind farm and all 15 turbines are now generating power to the National Grid. After a series of tests on the turbines, the wind farm will be handed over to the O&M team.

The offshore construction started in May this year, with the first power generated on 29 August. The wind farm is scheduled to be fully completed this autumn.

Kentish Flats Extension, located 8km off Heme Bay and Whitstable on the Kent coast, is expected to meet the equivalent annual electricity demand of around 35,000 households.