EDF Energy’s Teeside offshore wind farm has started to generate its first electricity for the National Grid with three wind turbines having now been officially commissioned.
The wind farm is still being completed but will eventually be able to generate 62MW of electricity, enough for around 40,000 households. A total of 18 wind turbines, out of the planned 27, have now been fully installed using the locally-based MPI Adventure jack up vessel based in the Port of Hartlepool. After installation the turbines will be commissioned and tested by the manufacturer, in this case Siemens, in order to make sure they are ready for operation. Cables have been buried beneath the seabed read to transmit electricity from the turbines to a new substation at Warrenby. There the voltage is boosted to reduce transmission loss and the electricity then enters the National Grid via a connection at Lackenby.
“We are delighted that first supplies of low carbon electricity are now being produced by our Teesside scheme” said Christian Egal, Chief Executive of EDF Energy Renewables. “This is an important milestone for us and one that that will help us to maintain our commitment to deliver energy in a way that is sustainable, affordable and secure. As work progresses, further turbines will be brought on stream over the next few weeks and in doing so will enable the Teesside project to make a significant contribution to meeting these objectives.”
EDF Energy Renewables currently has 24 operational onshore wind farms in the UK with a generating capacity of 463MW. This will increase to 525MW with the completion of the Teeside offshore wind farm in June.
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