EDF's First Offshore Windfarm Takes Shape in U.K.

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) -- Work has kicked off in U.K. on the construction of the 62-megawatt (MW) Redcar Teeside offshore windfarm off the north east coast.

It is notable for being the first offshore project for EDF Energy Renewables (London, England), the renewable energy division of French energy major, Electricite de France (EPA:EDF) (Paris), which said that the windfarm will start generating electricity before the end of the year. When fully commissioned it will be capable of generating enough electricity for approximately 40,000 homes, while offsetting around 200,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. The windfarm lies 1.5 kilometers off the coast of Redcar at its nearest point.

Christian Egal, chief executive officer at EDF Energy Renewables, admitted that the Redcar Teeside project presented some challenges.

"This is an exciting but very demanding project," Egal explained. "Constructing an offshore windfarm is far more complex than building a conventional onshore windfarm owing to the constraints of the marine environment. I would like to pay tribute to the team, which has managed to rise to the technical, administrative and environmental challenges and has worked successfully with fishermen and all the local stakeholders, so that this first-class project can take shape."

Last August, the company awarded construction contracts worth €171 million ($247 million) to Siemens Energy, a division of Siemens AG (NYSE:SI) (Munich, Germany) and Dutch marine engineering firm, Van Oord (Rotterdam). For additional information see August 18, 2011, article - EDF Contracts for First Offshore Windfarm.

The Redcar Teeside windfarm will use 27 Siemens' turbines, rated at 2.3 MW each, while Van Oord has been contracted for Balance of Plant, including laying the turbine foundations and sub-sea cabling.

EDF is hoping that the experience it gains from the Redcar project will help with its hopes of winning a share of France's first big push into the offshore wind sector. Last July, the French government launched its first offshore tender to build 3,000 MW of windfarms around the country's coastlines. The €10 billion ($13.2 billion) tender is offering contracts to build windfarms at five offshore locations and will be followed by tenders for another 3,000 MW of offshore windfarms next month. For additional information, see July 13, 2011, news article - France Launches €10 Billion Offshore Wind Bonanza .

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