UK prepares for wind farms off Cumbrian coast

ISLE OF WALNEY, IRISH SEA - The construction of two large wind farms off the Cumbrian coast of England is set to begin as early as this spring, following public consultations.

Dong Energy has confirmed that construction will soon begin on the 367.2-megawatt (MW) Walney Offshore Windfarm, located 14 kilometres off the Isle of Walney in the Irish Sea.

The project will cost an estimated £1 billion (US $1.58 billion) and will be constructed in two phases, Walney 1 and Walney 2, each involving the erection of about 50 turbines. In addition, Swedish energy giant Vattenfall AB confirmed that work on the nearby 30-turbine Ormonde Offshore Windfarm will kick off this autumn. The wind farms will be capable of producing enough combined electricity for about 445,000 homes.

Both companies held meetings in recent days to update the public on the plans and progress of both projects. Jens Hansen, project manager for the Walney project, said, "The views of local people are very important to us, these three exhibitions are a continuation of the consultation process of discussion with local communities. We hope that local people will take the opportunity to visit one of our exhibitions, and we look forward to meeting as many people as possible over the three days."

Matthew Green, project manager for Vattenfall's Ormonde project, said, "Consultation with local people and organisations is key to the success of the Ormonde project. We are now ready to start construction on the UK's first large-scale windfarm project, which will utilize 5-MW turbines. We look forward to discussing our project with as many people as possible during the exhibitions."

At the start of this year Scottish and Southern Energy plc (SSE) bought a 25.1% stake in the Walney wind farm from Dong. SSE will pay £39 million (US $61.1 million) for its stake in the project and will contribute about £250 million (US $391.6 million) toward construction costs. The wind farm will be commissioned in two phases, during the first half of 2011 and toward the end of 2011.

The 150-MW Ormonde windfarm will use 30 of the large 5-MW turbines from REpower Systems AG. Vattenfall and Repower signed a deal for the "5M" model turbines last July, which represented REpower's largest offshore deal in the UK. Onshore works for Ormonde will get under way this autumn. The 5M turbine nacelles and hubs, which are being manufactured at REpower's offshore manufacturing and logistics centre in Bremerhaven, Germany, will be shipped to the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where pre-assembly is planned later this year.