U.K. Heralds World's Second-Largest Offshore Windfarm

Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland)--The world's second-largest offshore windfarm, Gwynt y Môr, has opened eight miles off the North Wales coast in the U.K..

Developed by RWE Innogy, the U.K. arm of energy giant RWE AG (OTC:RWEOY) (Essen, Germany) said its flagship, 576-megawatt (MW) project will be capable of generating enough electricity for about 400,000 homes--around one-third of all the homes in Wales. The project has cost an estimated 2 billion euro ($2.29 billion). The construction phase saw the installation 160 foundations and turbines, four export cables, two offshore substations and 161 array cables. The turbines were supplied by Siemens AG (NYSE:SI) (Munich, Germany).

Gwynt y Môr sits just behind the world's largest windfarm, London Array, off the Kent coast in England. Officially opened in July 2012, it has 175 turbines and a total generating capacity of 630 MW, enough to power nearly half a million homes. For additional information, see July 8, 2012, article - World's Largest Offshore Windfarm Officially Opened.

The new windfarm was opened officially by U.K. Secretary of State for Energy & Climate Change Amber Rudd, who said: "This offshore wind project will generate enough clean electricity to power hundreds of thousands of homes and will support 100 long-term, skilled engineering jobs, giving more people the financial security of a regular pay packet. Gwynt y Môr has a key role to play in our long-term plan to develop a secure energy mix in this country that is diverse and home grown."

RWE AG Chief Executive Officer Peter Terium added: "With today's inauguration, we are now definitely playing in the Offshore Wind Champions League! Thanks to our German wind park Nordsee Ost, inaugurated only three weeks ago, and now Gwynt y Môr offshore windfarm we will become the third-largest player in the European offshore market. The expansion of renewable energy is one of our main growth areas. We currently expect to invest over 1 billion euro up to 2017 in growing renewables, with wind power at the forefront of that investment."

In April last year, Industrial Info reported that RWE had sold a 10% stake in the Gwynt y Môr offshore windfarm to the U.K. government's Green Investment Bank (GiB) for €265 million ($302 million). For additional information, see April 3, 2014, article - RWE Sells Stake in Welsh Offshore Windfarm.

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