German energy company RWE has won an operations and maintenance (O&M) services contract for the London Array offshore wind farm , in which RWE holds a 30 per cent stake.
Under the ten-year O&M contract, the company will start delivering services for the offshore wind farm in early 2023.
According to RWE, over the past year, a competitive tender has been conducted by London Array Limited on behalf of its shareholders, RWE (30 per cent), Ørsted (20 per cent), Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ, per cent), and Masdar (20 per cent), to explore if there was a more efficient way to deliver the range of O&M services required at London Array.
“RWE is #2 in the world for offshore wind and is driving the development of the largest offshore wind pipeline in the UK. This contract demonstrates RWE’s long history and experience in developing, building, and operating some of the largest Offshore wind projects in Europe,” said Sven Utermöhlen , CEO Offshore Wind, RWE.
The London Array comprises 175 Siemens SWT-3.6 wind turbines installed over 20 kilometres off the Kent coast. The 630 MW offshore wind farm, which has been operational since 2013, is capable of generating enough clean electricity to power around 500,000 British homes and is maintained and operated from the Port of Ramsgate.
James Fisher Marine Services (JMFS) was appointed by London Array in 2018 to provide Balance of Plant (BoP) O&M services covering the wind farm’s subsea services, as well as inspection of the substation and all 175 Siemens turbines for five years.
In June 2020, Siemens Gamesa appointed the Australian engineering company Worly to carry out statutory inspections and general maintenance of the wind turbine cranes and lifts across all of the wind farm’s turbines.