Full Power for Galloper Offshore Windfarm in U.K.

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The £1.5 billion ($2.1 billion) Galloper offshore windfarm has been fully commissioned 27 kilometers (km) off the coast of Suffolk, England.

Galloper is a 336-megawatt (MW) offshore project capable of producing enough power for 380,000 homes according to developer innogy SE, the former renewables energy business of RWE AG (FWB:RWE) (Essen, Germany), which was spun off in 2016. Innogy said the project, which had been originally cancelled in 2014 before being restarted in 2015, came in on-time and on-budget. It uses 56 turbines rated at 6.3 MW each from Siemens Gamesa (Madrid, Spain), formerly Siemens AG (FWB:SIE) (Munich, Germany). Construction on Galloper started in November 2016, with the final foundations completed two months ahead of schedule in March 2017 and first power being delivered at the end of last year.

Galloper Project Director Toby Edmonds said: "Getting all the turbines switched on means we've done it and in record time! We can now celebrate the project moving into the operation phase. Galloper will run for over 20 years, ensuring clean renewable energy helping to power a decarbonised U.K. economy and delivering enough energy for around 380,000 homes annually."

He added "The Galloper project is supporting the U.K.'s thriving renewable energy. We are proud to have employed 700 people during the construction of the project and have also established a team of 70 people to operate the windfarm from Harwich, bringing prosperity and opportunity to the east coast of England. Over its operating lifetime, 58% of the investment at Galloper will be invested in U.K. companies."

Clark MacFarlane, U.K. managing director of Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy commented: "The commissioning of the Galloper project is a momentous moment--although Galloper was one of the last projects of its round, it is at the beginning of a new era for offshore wind power in the U.K. This year sees not only full generation from Galloper, but also a halving of costs for offshore wind."

Galloper, along with the Lincs and Rampion offshore windfarms, was co-funded by Europe's largest renewable energy investor, the Green Investment Bank (GIB), formed by the U.K. government. The bank and its assets were acquired in a £2.3 billion ($2.95 billion) buyout by global financial firm Macquarie Group (ASX:MQG) (Sydney, Australia) last year. For additional information, see April 28, 2017, article - U.K. Sells Green Investment Bank for £2.3 Billion.

Last week, Ireland's state-owned Electricity Supply Board (ESB) (Dublin) announced that it had purchased a 12.5% stake in the Galloper windfarm. It is the first in its planned drive into the offshore wind market, detailed by Industrial Info last year. For additional information, see September 6, 2017, article - ESB Unveils Irish Offshore Wind Ambitions.

Commenting on the purchase, ESB Chief Executive Pat O'Doherty said: "This investment represents a significant first step for ESB into offshore wind generation. Renewable electricity is a key enabler in the transition to a low-carbon economy, and ESB expects offshore wind to play a pivotal role in this transition. Our investment in the Galloper wind farm underscores ESB's commitment to further involvement in the development and construction of wind farms off the coast of Ireland and Britain."

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