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The worlds largest offshore wind farm inaugurated
Publication date: 9 February 2012
Author: DONG Energy
Tagged with: Anders Eldrup, Dennis van Alphen, DONG Energy, Edward Davey
In future, 102 wind turbines; 51 at Walney 1 and 51 at Walney 2, will generate energy for 320,000 households each year. On Thursday, the British 3.6MW wind turbines were inaugurated at an official ceremony in Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria.
The wind farm is owned by DONG Energy (50.1%) and the following partners; the British energy company SSE (25.1%) and the OPW consortium consisting of the Dutch pension fund PGGM and the Ampère Equity Fund which together own 24.8%. DONG Energy is the operator.
At the inauguration, the new British Minister for Energy and Climate Change, Edward Davey, made the following statement:
”Britain has a lot to be proud of in our growing offshore wind industry. The great natural resources of our island, our basis for development, and a proud history within research make us the top location for investments in offshore wind power. And Walney is the newest, largest and the fastest built wind farm project to date delivering clean energy for hundreds of thousands of households.”
Anders Eldrup, CEO of DONG Energy, draws special attention to financing of the wind farm:
”It marks a new era in terms of financing wind farms, as it is the first project in the UK that has attracted institutional investors. Walney is a milestone within offshore wind power and in DONG Energy’s objective of further industrialising the offshore wind power business and reducing costs,” he says.
5,386 people have been working on the project – both in Barrow and off shore. 60 people will now be responsible for operation and maintenance of the wind farm from Barrow-in-Furness. The Managing Director of SSE was particularly pleased with this:
”Today is a good example of what we can achieve when skilled and innovative companies focus on the same goal. What we see here is an actual green investment and actual job creation, which proves that offshore wind power is able to become an important industry in the UK.
Dennis van Alphen, Director of OPW, is particularly pleased with the partnership:
”We’re very pleased with the completion of the Walney Offshore Wind Farm project, which is an impressive achievement and emphasises how important it is to have a strong, strategic partner such as DONG Energy.”
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