56 giant turbines are all now catching the wind off the Suffolk coast
Construction of Galloper Offshore Wind Farm, the £1.5 billion development 30 kilometres off the Suffolk coast, has been completed in record time.
All 56 turbines are now generating renewable energy for the UK.
The turbines, which are located 27 miles off the coast between Aldeburgh in Suffolk and Clacton-on-Sea in Essex, are expected to generate enough green power to meet the annual electricity needs of more than 380,000 UK households.
The German company Innogy SE led the development and construction of the wind farm, and will operate it on behalf of the project partners Siemens Financial Services, Sumitomo Corporation and ESB and a consortium managed by Green Investment Group and Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets.
Construction began in late 2015 and it became fully operational in March 2018.
Galloper project director Toby Edmonds explained that the wind farm was built with “awe-inspiring speed and efficiency and importantly, with an exemplary safety record of no significant injuries.”
As well as the visible turbines, there are also 56 buried subsea array cables linking the turbines to the offshore platforms, and two buried subsea export cables.
The foundations were installed at a rate of four per week and all 56 turbines were constructed in just one season – both firsts for Innogy on a project of this scale.
Hans Bünting, COO Renewables of innogy SE said he was “extremely proud” to inaugurate Galloper Offshore Wind Farm, the fifth offshore wind farm that Innogy has constructed in the UK. He said: “Offshore wind is now a key industrial sector for the UK and offers particular opportunities to key regional hubs, such as East Anglia – the home of both Galloper’s construction base and its operation and maintenance facility.
“With all our projects, we always strive to invest in local businesses and during its operating lifetime, almost 60 percent of the investment in Galloper is expected to go to UK companies.”
Earlier this month, construction began on the Galloper Operations & Maintenance Base in Harwich, which will carry out long term operations and maintenance of the farm. The new base is set to deliver a £10m boost to the local economy and create around 120 construction jobs.
Galloper will run for over 20 years, making a significant contribution towards the decarbonisation of the UK’s energy supply.
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