The Gwynt y Môr wind farm, located eight miles offshore in Liverpool Bay, was officially inaugurated by Carwyn Jones, First Minister of Wales today.
With an installed capacity of 576 megawatts, Gwynt y Môr is the world’s 2nd largest offshore wind farm. In total, 160 wind turbines will produce enough power to supply some 400,000 residential households with renewable electricity per year. The wind farm is owned by RWE (60%) and its partners, Stadtwerke München (30%) and Siemens (10%).
The inauguration of more than £2billion wind farm was welcomed by Secretary of State for Energy & Climate Change, Amber Rudd MP , 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’s Chief Executive Officer, Peter Terium, commented: “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 3 weeks ago and now Gwynt y Môr offshore wind farm 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.”
“Siemens has played a major role in Gwynt y Môr. Physically, by supplying both turbines and sub-stations and also by providing financing and a 12-year Service and Warranty contract” , Michael Hannibal, CEO Offshore and Siemens Windpower and Renewables Division, said. “It has been an excellent team effort. Gwynt y Môr will benefit the UK economy by creating green jobs and growth as well as providing secure, sustainable and low-carbon energy for around 400,000 homes in Wales.”
The wind farm extends over an area of some 80 square kilometres. The 160 Siemens turbines with a capacity of 3.6 MW each and the 160 steel monopile foundations, some weighing up to 700 tonnes, were installed by means of installation vessels at water depths of up to 28 meters. Each turbine rises 150 meters above the mean sea level. In addition RWE and its contractors installed two massive offshore substations each weighing 1,300 tonnes and 134 kilometers of onshore cable installed.