The final turbines at the world’s largest offshore wind farm, off the coast of Cumbria, have now been installed. All 87 turbines are now installed at the Walney Extension wind farm, which is a shared-ownership project of Ørsted (50%) and two Danish pension funds PFA (25%) and PKA (25%).
The 659MW wind farm has been installed in two phases using turbine technology from two leading manufacturers – MHI Vestas and Siemens Gamesa, with Seajack’s Scylla vessel installing all turbines. MHI Vestas Offshore Wind has installed 40 of its 8MW turbines, which can each deliver a maximum output of 8.25MW.
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These 47 turbines complete the installation work on the project, which will become the world’s largest offshore wind farm when it starts its operations in the second half of 2018. Walney Extension will be able to generate enough clean energy to meet the annual electricity demands of more than half a million UK homes.
Moreover, a £15million Walney Extension community fund will support local projects and organisations. Each year, around £600,000 will be made available for the 25-year lifetime of the wind farm, with £100,000 of this ring-fenced for a ‘Skills Fund’ to promote education and support local students.
