UK approves world’s largest offshore windfarm in North Sea
18 February 2015
On February 17 the UK government approved a 2,400 megawatt (MW) capacity wind generation project in the British sector of the North Sea. The 400-turbine Dogger Bank Creyke Beck project, being developed by the Forewind consortium, will cover 430 sq miles and is expected to generate enough electricity to power nearly 2m homes and support 900 full-time jobs.
A final investment decision on Creyke Beck is expected to be taken by consortium member s - SSE, RWE, Statkraft and Statoil - within around two years. It will be built 77 miles (125km) off the Yorkshire coast. Construction on the site is expected to start in 2019 and £60m has already been spent on initial surveys and planning.
Forewind said it believed the project could generate between 4,000 and 5,000 direct and indirect jobs. The offshore farm would connect into the national grid at an existing substation at Creyke Beck, near Cottingham, East Yorkshire.
The company said a government decision on another project, Dogger Bank Teesside A and B, is expected in August this year.
Britain currently has an installed offshore wind capacity of around 4.05 gigawatts (GW), the world's largest, and is targeting up to 41 GW by 2030 in a bid to reduce carbon emissions in its electricity sector.
Contact Details and Archive...