RWE Innogy UK has today (Nov 2015) announced the award of the contract to design, manufacture and install the wind turbine foundations for the Galloper offshore wind farm, located off the coast of Suffolk. The foundations are the steel monopiles and transition pieces that are driven into the seabed to provide the solid base for the wind turbines.
The contract is worth in excess of £250million, and has been awarded to GeoSea, a specialist in complex offshore marine engineering projects. GeoSea are sub-contracting Sif Group & Smulders to produce the monopiles and transition pieces.
Announcing the award of the latest contract, Toby Edmonds, Galloper Project Director said;
“We’re delighted to announce the award of this contract which is an important piece of the Galloper jigsaw and moves the project a step closer to completion. It continues to gather fantastic momentum on a daily basis and we remain on target to start construction later this year.”
The project once completed will provide significant clean energy and carbon reduction benefits in the UK. It is estimated that the average annual generation expected at the site could be equivalent to the approximate domestic needs of around 336,000 average UK households1.
Galloper offshore wind farm is an extension of the existing and fully operational Greater Gabbard Wind Farm off the coast of Suffolk. Following community consultation, in-depth site investigations and a thorough examination by the Planning Inspectorate, Galloper was awarded Development Consent in May 2013. The Project is now moving into the detailed design work phase, involving its supply chain partners and potential equity finance partners. The next key milestone for the project will be to secure Financial Close ahead of construction commencing later this year. The wind farm, which has grid connection secured, represents an expected investment potential of more than £1.3 billion.
RWE Innogy UK is extremely experienced in the development, construction and operation of offshore wind farms. The company successfully constructed the UK’s first commercial scale offshore wind farm North Hoyle in 2003 and earlier this year inaugurated the world’s second largest offshore wind farm, Gwynt y Môr, off the coast of North Wales.
Footnotes
1 “Energy predicted to be generated by the proposal is derived using wind speeds monitored in the local area and longer term trends from meteorological models seeded with historical weather data obtained from satellite, surface-based and airborne measurement systems. The calculations are based on an installed capacity of 340 MW. The energy capture predicted and hence derived homes equivalent or emissions savings figures may change as further data are gathered.”
“Equivalent homes supplied is based on an annual electricity consumption per home of 4500 kWh. This figure is supported by recent domestic electricity consumption data available from The Digest of UK Energy Statistics and household figures from the UK Statistics Authority.”