Renewable UK — the not-for-profit renewable-energy trade association — welcomed the announcement that all 175 turbines at the world’s largest operational offshore wind farm, London Array, are now generating electricity. They were installed in the Thames Estuary between January and December last year, and the first power was generated in October 2012. With the 175th turbine now on-line, Phase One of London Array is fully operational.
Renewable UK’s chief executive Maria McCaffery said: “Britain has a real achievement to celebrate here — the largest operational offshore wind farm in the world is generating clean electricity for British homes and businesses. It’s a monumental feat of ‘green’ engineering. Other massive projects are also coming to fruition in UK waters, such as Teesside, Gwynt y Mor off the coast of North Wales and Gunfleet Sands off the Essex coast, where the next generation of even more-powerful offshore turbines is being tested in the water for the first time.
“To hold on to the UK’s global lead in offshore wind, it’s vital that we maintain this momentum. We must ensure that the crucial legislation going through Parliament right now — the Energy Bill — sets a rock-solid framework to encourage investment in renewables. If MPs get the details of the Bill right, we can unlock billions of pounds of investment for more flagship low-carbon projects like London Array and create 76,000 jobs in the British wind industry by the dawn of the next decade.”
The 630MW London Array Phase One project has the capacity to power nearly half a million homes — equivalent to two-thirds of the homes in Kent. It will reduce CO
2 emissions by over 900,000 tonnes a year.