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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--Construction has started on the Kentish Flats Extension offshore windfarm, which is located off the coast of Kent, England.
Energy major Vattenfall AB (Stockholm, Sweden) announced that the 49.5-megawatt (MW) project will cost more than £150 million ($236 million) to build. The company said it will be the "only windfarm to be built offshore in U.K. waters in 2015."
The extension lies near the existing Kentish flats windfarm, a 90-MW project located about 8.5 to 13 kilometers (km) north of Herne Bay and Whitstable in Kent. The project was approved in spring 2013, and preparatory work kicked off near the end of 2014. The seabed was prepared for 30 km of cabling that will connect the turbines to the Hampton Pier, then to Red House Farm Substation in Herne Bay.
Following the expansion, the Kentish Flats windfarm will be capable of generating enough power for about 90,000 homes, with the extension itself servicing about 35,000 households.
Construction started on Saturday, May 2, with the piling of foundations for the 15-turbine scheme. All of the wind turbines are expected to be deployed this summer, Vattenfall said, with first power from the scheme expected later this year.
"A number of large vessels will be offshore Herne Bay and Whitstable this summer as we add 15 turbines to the existing 30 at Kentish Flats," said Matthew Green, Vattenfall's project director for the extension. "[This is] a challenging and complex engineering exercise. It doesn't get much tougher than this: piling foundations 30 metres into the seabed; installing 139.6 metre-tall turbines, weighing 600 tonnes, over 8 km off the coast; and completing on schedule and to budget--with, most importantly, maximum emphasis on safety."
Piers Guy, Vattenfall's U.K. country manager, added: "We're proud to be carrying the U.K. offshore wind flag this year as the only developer building offshore. It's important the U.K. pipeline keeps delivering--and Kentish Flats Extension does that in a modest way--so that British suppliers can maintain a foothold in the sector and help capture the significant economic opportunities that go with it."
It has been a busy period for Vattenfall. Earlier this month, Industrial Info covered the company's commissioning of the DanTysk offshore windfarm, located 70 km west of the island of Sylt in the German North Sea. With a total generating capacity of 288 MW, it can power up to 400,000 homes, and is one of Germany's largest offshore projects. For additional information, see May 6, 2015, article - Germany's DanTysk Offshore Windfarm Opens.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. To contact an office in your area, visit the Industrial Info "Contact Us" page.
Energy major Vattenfall AB (Stockholm, Sweden) announced that the 49.5-megawatt (MW) project will cost more than £150 million ($236 million) to build. The company said it will be the "only windfarm to be built offshore in U.K. waters in 2015."
The extension lies near the existing Kentish flats windfarm, a 90-MW project located about 8.5 to 13 kilometers (km) north of Herne Bay and Whitstable in Kent. The project was approved in spring 2013, and preparatory work kicked off near the end of 2014. The seabed was prepared for 30 km of cabling that will connect the turbines to the Hampton Pier, then to Red House Farm Substation in Herne Bay.
Following the expansion, the Kentish Flats windfarm will be capable of generating enough power for about 90,000 homes, with the extension itself servicing about 35,000 households.
Construction started on Saturday, May 2, with the piling of foundations for the 15-turbine scheme. All of the wind turbines are expected to be deployed this summer, Vattenfall said, with first power from the scheme expected later this year.
"A number of large vessels will be offshore Herne Bay and Whitstable this summer as we add 15 turbines to the existing 30 at Kentish Flats," said Matthew Green, Vattenfall's project director for the extension. "[This is] a challenging and complex engineering exercise. It doesn't get much tougher than this: piling foundations 30 metres into the seabed; installing 139.6 metre-tall turbines, weighing 600 tonnes, over 8 km off the coast; and completing on schedule and to budget--with, most importantly, maximum emphasis on safety."
Piers Guy, Vattenfall's U.K. country manager, added: "We're proud to be carrying the U.K. offshore wind flag this year as the only developer building offshore. It's important the U.K. pipeline keeps delivering--and Kentish Flats Extension does that in a modest way--so that British suppliers can maintain a foothold in the sector and help capture the significant economic opportunities that go with it."
It has been a busy period for Vattenfall. Earlier this month, Industrial Info covered the company's commissioning of the DanTysk offshore windfarm, located 70 km west of the island of Sylt in the German North Sea. With a total generating capacity of 288 MW, it can power up to 400,000 homes, and is one of Germany's largest offshore projects. For additional information, see May 6, 2015, article - Germany's DanTysk Offshore Windfarm Opens.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. To contact an office in your area, visit the Industrial Info "Contact Us" page.
