Statkraft Reveals Europe's Largest Onshore Windfarm Project

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Europe's largest onshore windfarm project will be constructed in Norway following the announcement of a 1.1 billion euro ($1.2 billion) investment plan by state-owned Statkraft AS (Oslo, Norway).

The project will see the construction of a network of six windfarms located on the Fosen peninsula, the island of Hitra and in Snillfjord in central Norway with a combined generating capacity of over 1,000-megawatts (MW)--more than Norway's current total wind energy capacity. Statkraft has created a joint venture called Fosen Vind DA (Fosen) with partners TrønderEnergi (Trondheim, Norway) and European investor consortium Nordic Wind Power DA (Oslo). Work is expected to kick off this year with commissioning of all the windfarms to be completed by the end of 2020.

MHI Vestas Offshore Wind (Aarhus, Denmark) has been contracted to supply all 278 turbines, comprising 248 units of the V117-3.45 MW turbine and 30 units of the V112-3.45 MW model, all of which can be optimised to 3.6 MW. The first turbines will be delivered in 2018. Vestas will install and commission the wind turbines and provide a 20-year service and support agreement.

"This is an important day," said Christian Rynning-Tønnesen, chief executive officer (CEO) and president of Statkraft. "Together with our partners Statkraft has developed the largest renewable energy project in Norway in this millennium. With a 1,000 MW project we will become one of the leading onshore wind players."

The Fosen Vind project portfolio includes the Harbaksfjellet, Roan, Storheia and Kvenndalsfjellet windfarms north of the Trondheim fjord, totalling approximately 750 MW, as well as the Geitfjellet and Hitra 2 windfarms south of the Trondheim fjord (totalling approximately 250 MW). The original Fosen-Snillfjord project, which was smaller in capacity, was terminated early last summer due to lack of profitability.

"We are extremely proud to work with Statkraft and the partner organisations on this 1-gigawatt (GW) project, which is Vestas' largest order to date," commented Klaus Steen Mortensen, president, Vestas Northern Europe. "Wind power provides an attractive long-term energy investment that goes well beyond its climate and sustainability benefits. Investing in wind power simply makes economic sense."

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