Engineering news
Scottish Power Renewables has submitted plans to build 172 wind turbines off the coast of Suffolk.
If approved construction could begin in 2021 and first power generation in 2023.
According to Scottish Power Renewables, the East Anglia Three project will require 4,800 workers to build, representing more than £400m for the economy. It will cover a 305km2 area in the North Sea.
ScottishPower Renewables is already developing the East Anglia One offshore windfarm, a £2 billion project to install 102 turbines with a capacity of up to 714MW in the same area.
Siemens is to supply up to 102 of its 7MW Direct Drive turbines for East Anglia One, the blades for which will be built it in its new factory in Hull. Scottish Power Renewables has said East Anglia One will create around 3,000 jobs, with up to half of these jobs supporting the turbine contract.
If both windfarms are built it would far outstrip the size of the London Array in the Thames Estuary, which with 175 turbines is the world's largest windfarm.
Keith Anderson, chief executive of ScottishPower Renewables, said: “The more offshore wind capacity we have in the UK, the more secure our energy supplies will be. It already powers 3.5 million homes per year, and with wind around our coasts in plentiful supply, it has the potential to play an even more significant role.
“Our East Anglia One project was successful in the last government auction with a price of £119/MWh, which will make it the best value offshore windfarm ever developed in the UK. But we want to see costs come down even further. Our entire industry wants to get to a place where subsidy is not required, and significant progress is being made to deliver this in the near future.
“The offshore wind industry in the UK now benefits from more powerful and more efficient turbines. We have better vessels, more experience of working offshore, a healthier supply chain, a growing engineering skills base, increased capability to export our products and expertise around the globe, as well as ever increasing investment in UK infrastructure. All of these factors mean that costs are reducing quickly, and large projects are achievable.”
The planning submission follows the government's commitment to further support the development of offshore power in its energy policy yesterday.
The area off the coast of Suffolk also contains plans for East Anglia Two and East Anglia Four windfarms.