London Array
Encyclopedia
The London Array is an offshore wind farm
under construction in the outer Thames Estuary
in the United Kingdom
. With 1,000 megawatt (MW) capacity, it is expected to become the world's largest offshore wind farm. The site is 17.77 miles (28.6 km) off the North Foreland
on the Kent
coast in the area of Long Sand and Kentish Knock
, and will cover 90 square miles (233.1 km²) between Margate
in Kent
and Clacton in Essex
. The first foundation was installed in March 2011 and phase I is expected to be completed end 2012 at a cost of €
2.2 billion and will deliver a capacity of 630MW.
(near Faversham
) on the north Kent coast.
The proposers say the wind farm is enough to power a quarter of the homes in Greater London
or the entire counties of Kent
and East Sussex
, when it's operating within its minimum windspeeds.
. Their foundations are built by the joint venture between Per Aarsleff and Bilfinger Berger Ingenieurbau. The same company supply and install monopiles
. Generators will be installed by MPI and A2SEA
by using an installation vessel and a jack-up barge Sea Worker. Two offshore substations will be designed, fabricated and installed by Future Energy, a joint venture between Fabricom, Iemants and Geosea, while electrical systems and onshore substation work will be undertaken by Siemens Transmission & Distribution. The subsea export cable will supply by Nexans
and array cables by JDR Cable Systems. The array cables will be installed by Global Marine Systems
and the export cables will be installed by VSMC.
, 30% E.ON UK Renewables
and 20% Masdar
. The wind farm was planned to be built by London Array Limited, a consortium of Shell WindEnergy Ltd
, E.ON UK Renewables and DONG Energy. In May 2008, Shell announced that it was pulling out of the project. It was announced in July 2008 that E.ON UK and DONG Energy would buy Shell's stake. Subsequently on 16 October 2008, London Array announced the Abu Dhabi
-based Masdar would join E.ON as a joint venture party in the scheme. Under the agreement, Masdar purchased 40% of E.ON's half share of the scheme, giving Masdar a 20% stake in the project overall.
Financing of phase 1 have been achieved through the European Investment Bank
and Danish Export Credit Fund with £250 million.
Wind farm
A wind farm is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electric power. A large wind farm may consist of several hundred individual wind turbines, and cover an extended area of hundreds of square miles, but the land between the turbines may be used for agricultural or other...
under construction in the outer Thames Estuary
Thames Estuary
The Thames Mouth is the estuary in which the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea.It is not easy to define the limits of the estuary, although physically the head of Sea Reach, near Canvey Island on the Essex shore is probably the western boundary...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. With 1,000 megawatt (MW) capacity, it is expected to become the world's largest offshore wind farm. The site is 17.77 miles (28.6 km) off the North Foreland
North Foreland
North Foreland is a chalk headland on the Kent coast of southeast England.North Foreland forms the eastern end of the Isle of Thanet. It presents a bold cliff to the sea, and commands views over the southern North Sea.-Lighthouse:...
on the Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
coast in the area of Long Sand and Kentish Knock
Kentish Knock
Kentish Knock may refer to:* Kentish Knock, an area off the coast of Kent and Essex in England* Battle of the Kentish Knock, fought in October 1652* London Array, a wind farm near the Kentish Knock....
, and will cover 90 square miles (233.1 km²) between Margate
Margate
-Demography:As of the 2001 UK census, Margate had a population of 40,386.The ethnicity of the town was 97.1% white, 1.0% mixed race, 0.5% black, 0.8% Asian, 0.6% Chinese or other ethnicity....
in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
and Clacton in Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
. The first foundation was installed in March 2011 and phase I is expected to be completed end 2012 at a cost of €
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
2.2 billion and will deliver a capacity of 630MW.
Description
The first phase will consist of 175 SWT-3.6 turbines and two offshore substations. All turbines and also offshore substations will be erected on 177 monopiles. In addition, the first stage includes 220 kilometres (136.7 mi) of 150 kV subsea export cable connecting the offshore substations to the shore and 210 kilometres (130.5 mi) of 33 kV array cables to link the turbines to each other and to the offshore substations and a new onshore substation near GraveneyGraveney
Graveney is a relatively small but widely dispersed village located between Faversham and Whitstable in Kent, England. The main part of the village is located along the intersection of Seasalter Road, Sandbanks Road and Head Hill Road , which is surrounded by farmland...
(near Faversham
Faversham
Faversham is a market town and civil parish in the Swale borough of Kent, England. The parish of Faversham grew up around an ancient sea port on Faversham Creek and was the birthplace of the explosives industry in England.-History:...
) on the north Kent coast.
The proposers say the wind farm is enough to power a quarter of the homes in Greater London
Greater London
Greater London is the top-level administrative division of England covering London. It was created in 1965 and spans the City of London, including Middle Temple and Inner Temple, and the 32 London boroughs. This territory is coterminate with the London Government Office Region and the London...
or the entire counties of Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
and East Sussex
East Sussex
East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...
, when it's operating within its minimum windspeeds.
Contractors
Turbines will be supplied by Siemens Wind PowerSiemens Wind Power
Siemens Wind Power, or SWP, is a wind turbine manufacturer with headquarters and main production facilities established in 1980 in Brande, Denmark. SWP is wholly owned by Siemens of Germany since 2004 through the Renewable Energy division in the Siemens Energy sector...
. Their foundations are built by the joint venture between Per Aarsleff and Bilfinger Berger Ingenieurbau. The same company supply and install monopiles
Deep foundation
A deep foundation is a type of foundation distinguished from shallow foundations by the depth they are embedded into the ground. There are many reasons a geotechnical engineer would recommend a deep foundation over a shallow foundation, but some of the common reasons are very large design loads, a...
. Generators will be installed by MPI and A2SEA
A2SEA
A2SEA is an offshore wind farm installation and services company based in Fredericia, Denmark. The company is specialized on transport, installation, and servicing of offshore wind farms. In addition to Denmark, the company has subsidiaries in the United Kingdom and Germany.-History:A2SEA was...
by using an installation vessel and a jack-up barge Sea Worker. Two offshore substations will be designed, fabricated and installed by Future Energy, a joint venture between Fabricom, Iemants and Geosea, while electrical systems and onshore substation work will be undertaken by Siemens Transmission & Distribution. The subsea export cable will supply by Nexans
Nexans
Nexans S.A. is a French company which manufactures copper and optical fiber cable products for the infrastructure, industrial and construction markets. It is the world's largest manufacturer of cables. It has an industrial presence in nearly 40 countries, over 23,000 employees and sales of around...
and array cables by JDR Cable Systems. The array cables will be installed by Global Marine Systems
Global Marine Systems
Global Marine Systems is a specialist-shipping company that installs, maintains and repairs submarine communications and power cables.- History :...
and the export cables will be installed by VSMC.
Developer
Ownership is 50% DONG EnergyDONG Energy
-History:The Danish state company Dansk Naturgas A/S was founded in 1972 to manage resources in the Danish sector of the North Sea. After some years, the company was renamed to Dansk Olie og Naturgas A/S . At the beginning of 2000s, DONG started to extend itself into the electricity market by...
, 30% E.ON UK Renewables
E.ON UK
E.ON UK is an energy company in the United Kingdom and a subsidiary of E.ON, the world's largest investor-owned power and gas company. As Powergen, it was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index but since 1 July 2002 has been owned by E.ON AG of...
and 20% Masdar
Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company
The Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company is an Abu Dhabi-based renewable energy company that develops sustainable low-carbon energy projects. It is wholly owned subsidiary of Mubadala Development Company.-Operations:...
. The wind farm was planned to be built by London Array Limited, a consortium of Shell WindEnergy Ltd
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
, E.ON UK Renewables and DONG Energy. In May 2008, Shell announced that it was pulling out of the project. It was announced in July 2008 that E.ON UK and DONG Energy would buy Shell's stake. Subsequently on 16 October 2008, London Array announced the Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western...
-based Masdar would join E.ON as a joint venture party in the scheme. Under the agreement, Masdar purchased 40% of E.ON's half share of the scheme, giving Masdar a 20% stake in the project overall.
Financial support and timetable
In March 2009, the backers agreed on an initial investment of €2.2 billion. Offshore work was due to start in February 2011 and the proposed completion date for the first stage is in 2012. The second stage (bringing the revised total to 217 turbines) will add enough capacity to generate 1,000 MW for 750,000 homes.Financing of phase 1 have been achieved through the European Investment Bank
European Investment Bank
The European Investment Bank is the European Union's long-term lending institution established in 1958 under the Treaty of Rome. A policy-driven bank, the EIB supports the EU’s priority objectives, especially European integration and the development of economically weak regions...
and Danish Export Credit Fund with £250 million.
See also
- Thanet Offshore Wind ProjectThanet Offshore Wind ProjectThe Thanet Wind Farm is an offshore wind farm off the coast of Thanet district in Kent, England. As of September 2010, it is the world's biggest offshore windfarm. It has a nameplate capacity of 300 MW and it cost £780-900 million...
— a 300 MW completed offshore wind farm near ThanetThanetThanet is a local government district of Kent, England which was formed under the Local Government Act 1972, and came into being on 1 April 1974... - Greater Gabbard wind farm — a 500 MW consented offshore wind farm 23 km east of FelixstoweFelixstoweFelixstowe is a seaside town on the North Sea coast of Suffolk, England. The town gives its name to the nearby Port of Felixstowe, which is the largest container port in the United Kingdom and is owned by Hutchinson Ports UK...
- Gunfleet Sands Offshore Wind FarmGunfleet Sands Offshore Wind FarmGunfleet Sands Offshore Wind Farm 172MW wind farm 7 km off the Clacton-on-Sea and Holland Essex coast in the Northern Thames Estuary, commissioned on 15 June 2010. It has 48 Siemens Wind Power wind turbines of 3.6 MW capacity each. Construction began in March 2008 and the first two turbines...
- a 172 MW operational offshore wind farm 7km east of Clacton-on-SeaClacton-on-SeaClacton-on-Sea is the largest town on the Tendring peninsula, in Essex, England and was founded in 1871. It is a seaside resort that attracted many tourists in the summer months between the 1950s and 1970s, but which like many other British sea-side resorts went into decline as a holiday... - Kentish Flats Offshore Wind FarmKentish Flats Offshore Wind FarmThe Kentish Flats Offshore Wind Farm is a wind farm located off the coast of Kent, England on a large, flat and shallow plateau just outside the main Thames shipping lanes. The distance from the nearest wind turbine to Whitstable is . The nearest turbine is away from Herne Bay...
— a 90 MW operational offshore wind farm in the Thames Estuary - Wind power in the United KingdomWind power in the United KingdomBy mid-2011, the installed capacity of wind power in the United Kingdom was over 5.7 gigawatts and the UK is ranked as the world’s eighth largest producer of wind power. Wind power is expected to continue growing in the UK for the foreseeable future, RenewableUK estimates that more than...