Climate change will be back on the news agenda next week as the United Nations’ COP28 summit kicks off in Dubai on Thursday, November 30.
With its global group Iberdrola announced as a partner for COP28, ScottishPower Renewables (SPR) is looking forward to seeing positive action on climate change at the conference.
“COP28 needs to bring together ambitions and actions to create a clear and comprehensive pathway for how we can accelerate climate action, drive the global energy transition and keep 1.5 degrees alive,” said Ross Ovens, managing director for SPR’s East Anglia Hub offshore wind complex.
“Increasing global renewable capacity must be a key part of that. Otherwise, ambitious targets like those set under the Paris Agreement and for the decarbonisation of the power sector or reaching net zero will remain out of reach.”
Catherine Sibley, head of offshore development at SPR, added: “In a nutshell, we need to make it easier and quicker to get green projects like offshore wind farms consented and built across the UK and globally, together with major investment and upgrades in grid infrastructure to get clean green electricity from where it’s generated to where it’s needed.”
SPR is already leading the transition to offshore wind in the UK. Its East Anglia ONE wind farm is now in operation off the Suffolk coast, generating 714MW of clean energy each year, while its first East Anglia Hub wind farm is currently under construction.
Comprising three separate wind farms – East Anglia ONE North, East Anglia TWO and East Anglia THREE – the East Anglia Hub will have a total installed power capacity of 2.9GW, representing almost 6% of the 50GW target for offshore wind power set by the UK government for 2030.
East Anglia THREE commenced construction in July 2022 and is due to become operational in 2026. Once complete, it will be the second largest wind farm in the world, with its 95 wind turbines delivering enough energy to power the equivalent of more than one million homes.
“East Anglia THREE is progressing really well and moving on at pace and with purpose,” said Ross. “The onshore works got underway last summer with the start of construction at the onshore converter station, which converts the electricity from the wind turbines for the National Grid so it can be distributed to homes and businesses.
“In terms of offshore works, significant progress has been made on the turbine foundations with 400 plates of steel currently being rolled into cans to form the monopiles – the steel tubes that will go into the seabed.
“Fabrication of the offshore converter station is also underway, and work on the export cables – which will transport the electricity from offshore to onshore – will get underway early next year.”
Ross added that SPR took an “innovative approach” by securing suppliers early for the project.
“We’ve placed contracts worth around £70 million with UK companies for East Anglia THREE and estimate more than £2 billion overall investment within the UK to support the construction and operation of the project during its lifetime.”
Another standout feature of East Anglia THREE is its Marine Mammal Monitoring Project, which Catherine said “is of a scale not undertaken before by the offshore wind industry in the UK”.
“This study will add significantly to the body of knowledge available on how mammals like harbour porpoises respond to offshore wind farm construction activity and help ensure their protection alongside ongoing development,” she explained.
“The continued delivery of projects like ours is absolutely critical to meeting the UK’s net zero targets and supporting the regions closest to offshore wind farms, such as East Anglia,” Catherine added.
“These regions will benefit from positive economic impact across the supply chain, skills and job creation, while leading the way in tackling the climate emergency.
“That’s something we can all be proud of.”
For more information on East Anglia THREE, please visit scottishpowerrenewables.com/pages/east_anglia_three
This article is part of the EADT's Clean & Green campaign, which aims to promote our region as the biggest in the UK and Europe for all forms of renewable energy.
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