ScottishPower Renewables submits plan for East Anglia Three offshore windfarm
ScottishPower Renewables chief executive Keith Anderson. Photo: Chris James - Credit: Chris James
ScottishPower Renewables has sumbitted plans for another major windfarm off the Suffolk coast, potentially supporting thousands of jobs.
The announcement came on the same day that Energy Secretary Amber Rudd revealed Government plans to hold a number of new auctions for offshore wind installations, ending a period of uncertainty following the General Election.
ScottishPower Renewables is already developing the East Anglia One windfarm, having succeeded in the last auction round with a price of £119 per megawatt (MW) hour.
In a major speech on the UK’s future energy mix, Ms Rudd said the Government intended to hold three offshore wind auctions this Parliament, the first by the end of 2016.
However, she warned that the funding would be made available only if conditions on cost reduction were met. “The industry tells us they can meet that challenge, and we will hold them to it,” she said. “If they don’t there will be no subsidy – no more blank cheques.”
ScottishPower Renewables chief executive Keith Anderson said East Anglia One would be the UK’s best value offshore windfarm yet.
“But we want to see costs come down even further,” he added. “Our entire industry wants to get to a place where subsidy is not required, and significant progress is being made to deliver this in the near future.”
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East Anglia One, around 26 miles off the Suffolk coast, will involve up to 102 wind turbines, providing an installed capacity of 714MW. East Anglia Three (which is being developed out of sequence, ahead of area two of the East Anglia zone) will require up to 172 turbines for a capacity of 1,200MW.
East Anglia Three could support up to 4,800 jobs during the construction phase, including 2,900 in the East of England region alone.
Subject to approval, it could become operational in 2023, with construction starting onshore in 2021 and offshore in 2022.
