Developers
confirms all 175 of London Array's offshore wind turbines are now fully
operational
guardian.co.uk,
Jessica Shankleman for BusinessGreen, part of the Guardian Environment Network,
Tuesday 9 April 2013
 |
| The MPI Discovery, a jack-up vessel operated by MPI Offshore, is seen at the London Array project in the Thames Estuary. Photograph: Chris Ratcliffe/ Getty Images |
The UK's
wind power industry has restated its pledge to drive down the cost of energy,
as it pushed the button on the last of the 175 turbines at the world's largest
offshore wind farm.
The London
Array project, jointly owned by Dong Energy, Masdar and EON, yesterday annouced
that the first 630MW phase of the project in the Thames estuary is now fully
operational.
"This
is the final major milestone of the construction phase and the culmination of
more than two years' offshore construction work which began in March 2011 with
the installation of the first foundation," said London Array project
director Richard Rigg.
The
annoucement comes just six months after London Array powered up the first
Siemens 3.6MW turbine at the site. The development team will now spend the next
few months finalising the development, including work to bury a number of
shallow array cables.
"It
has been a complex operation but I am delighted that the commissioning of the
wind farm has now been completed on schedule, despite the worst of the winter
weather," added Rigg.
Benj Sykes,
UK manager for DONG Energy's wind business, said the completion of the project
was a major achievement, adding that the company was now determined to use the
lessons gained from the London Array to reduce the cost of future projects.
"As we
now look to our pipeline of future projects, DONG Energy is determined to drive
down the costs of our offshore wind farms to €100 per megawatt hour for
projects we'll be sanctioning in 2020," he said.
"What
we have learnt at London Array, together with our continuing focus on
innovation in technologies and techniques, will help us achieve that."
The news
was also welcomed by RenewableUK's chief executive, Maria McCaffery, who called
on the government to ensure that offshore wind is adequately supported through
the upcoming Energy Bill.
"Britain
has a real achievement to celebrate here," she said. "The largest
operational offshore wind farm in the world is generating clean electricity for
British homes and businesses. It's a monumental feat of green engineering.
"To
hold on to the UK's global lead in offshore wind, it's vital that we maintain
this momentum. We must ensure that the crucial legislation going through
Parliament right now - the Energy Bill - sets a rock-solid framework to
encourage investment in renewables."
The
announcement follows the news last week that the final turbine was slotted into
place at Lincs offshore wind farm on 31 March. The 270MW project will be
operated and maintained from a base in Grimsby.
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