Swedish power company Vattenfall on Thursday officially opened the world’s largest offshore wind farm, Thanet Offshore Wind Farm, off England’s south east coast.
The wind farm has 100 turbines and will generate electricity equivalent to the annual consumption of over 200,000 British households. The 300 megawatts (MW) of electricity generated from the English Channel winds push the United Kingdom's total wind power capacity above 5,000 MW.
The opening ceremony took place at sea with the CEO and President of
Vattenfall, Øystein Løseth, and the British Secretary of State for
Energy and Climate Change, Chris Huhne MP, among the participants.
“With
Thanet Offshore Wind Farm, Vattenfall has taken a major step towards
doubling its generation from wind power until 2011 and we continue to
lead the way in offshore wind development,” Løseth said.
Between 2009 and 2011, Vattenfall aims to double its wind power electricity generation, constructing nine wind farms in six countries to supply electricity equivalent to the demand of 800,000 households annually.
The construction of the 300 MW Thanet Offshore Wind Farm has taken just over two years and the wind farm is expected to operate for at least 25 years. At 300MW, it is the largest offshore wind farm in the world. Each turbine is up to 115 metres tall at its highest point. The wind farm covers an area of 35 square kilometres, which is enough to cover 4,000 football pitches.
Vattenfall, along with project partner Iberdrola Renewables (IBR.MC) won a bid earlier this year to build the East Anglia Offshore Windfarm in UK waters, which is planned for 7,200 MW, a size that would ultimatlely dwarf the Thanet Wind Farm.
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