World’s Largest Offshore Wind Farm Now Open

The world’s largest offshore wind farm has opened off the coast of Cumbria. The Walney Extension, located in the Irish Sea, is the world’s largest operational offshore wind farm, and will be generating clean electricity for nearly 600,000 homes in the U.K.

Situated next to the existing Walney and West of Duddon Sands Offshore Wind Farms, Walney Extension is made up of 87 turbines and has a total capacity of 659 MW. The farm was inaugurated yesterday and it overtakes the 630 MW London Array Wind Farm as the world’s largest offshore wind farm

The wind farm spread over 145 KM², equivalent of 20,000 football pitches was developed by Danish renewable firm Ørsted. It was developed in collaboration with Danish pension fund firm PFA and its individual investment arm the PKA, both 25 percent owners in the project.

The onshore construction for the project began in 2015, sourcing turbines from two leading manufacturers Vestas and Siemens Gamesa. Offshore constructions commenced in February, 2017 and a total of 87 turbines have been deployed. These are split between the 40 x MHI-Vestas 8.25 MW turbines and 47 x Siemens Gamesa 7 MW turbines which stand at 195 and 188 metres respectively.

Energy Minister Claire Perry, said, “Record-breaking engineering landmarks like this help us consolidate our global leadership position, break records for generating renewable energy, and create thousands of high quality jobs.”

According to Ørsted up to 250 new jobs will be supported by the operations and maintenance phase of the project. Ørsted has also committed to a Community Benefit Fund worth up to £600,000 each year for Walney Extension’s 25-year lifetime. This fund will support community and environmental projects in coastal areas of Lancashire and Cumbria.

Read: Global body pushes for standardisation of tech in Offshore Wind.