• All 56 turbine foundations successfully installed
• Work to start soon installing 6MW Siemens turbines
• Offshore construction being coordinated from Lowestoft base

Construction of the Galloper Offshore Wind Farm is moving into a major new phase after all 56 turbine foundations were installed ahead of schedule.

The first of the foundations, which are made up of a steel monopiles and transition pieces, was installed 30 kilometers off the Suffolk coast in late December, with the final foundation completed today [28th March 2017].

The installation works have been carried out by GeoSea using their ‘Innovation’ jack-up installation vessel. The Innovation was upgraded specifically to cope with the conditions at Galloper and to improve installation cycle times. This included bigger feet on the legs of the vessel and a new monopile sea fastening system.

The work – using some of the most innovative and effective technology on the market – had been expected to last until May, so has been completed two months ahead of schedule.

Galloper Project Director Toby Edmonds said “GeoSea have set records with their barn-storming performance on Galloper. To achieve a cycle-time of within a week to collect and install four complete foundations in remarkable and certainly the fastest we’ve seen so far at innogy. To do this in winter makes it all the more impressive. The teams from Galloper and GeoSea have combined brilliantly to reach this major milestone completing the foundation installation stage efficiently and safely in such good time.

GeoSea, a specialist in complex offshore marine engineering projects, managed the installation of the foundations, each weighing about 1200 tonnes and 85m long and 7.5m in diameter, with the monopiles and transition pieces produced by Sif Group and Smulders.

Components were loaded out on to the GeoSea installation vessel, Innovation, in Rotterdam and Vlissingen.

The offshore team is now preparing to start turbine installation on the wind farm, which, once complete, will have the capacity to generate enough power for up to 336,000 homes 1 when fully operational next Spring (2018). The offshore construction for the project is being coordinated out of the Port of Lowestoft with local firm James Fisher & Son supporting the marine and offshore activity.

The Siemens turbines are being pre-assembled at the purpose built assembly base at Peel Ports, Great Yarmouth, where a 120m crane will lift the turbines on to vessels to sail them to the site.

Construction of Galloper is being led on behalf of the project partners by innogy SE. The project represents an investment potential of around £1.5 billion.

ENDS

For more information about the Galloper Wind Farm visit:
www.galloperwindfarm.com

For Further Information contact:
Rebecca Somers, PR Manager
M: 07876198971
E: rebecca.somers@innogy.com

Footnote

1Energy predicted to be generated by the proposal is derived using wind speeds monitored in the local area and correlating to suitable reanalysis weather data providing longer term data. The calculations are based on an installed capacity of up to 336MW. 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.

Notes to editor

Galloper Offshore Wind Farm is an extension of the existing and fully operational Greater Gabbard Wind Farm off the coast of Suffolk. The wind farm represents an expected investment potential of around £1.5 billion. It is estimated that the average annual generation expected at the site will be equivalent to the approximate domestic needs of around 336,000 average UK households . Following Financial Close of the project in October 2015 the GWFL project announced the equal joint equity partnership of 25% each between RWE Innogy UK (now innogy SE), UK Green Investment Bank, Siemens Financial Services and Macquarie Capital.

About innogy SE
innogy SE is Germany’s leading energy company, with revenue of around €46 billion (2015), more than 40,000 employees and activities in 16 countries across Europe. With its three business segments Grid & Infrastructure, Retail and Renewables, innogy addresses the requirements of a modern, decarbonised, decentralised and digital energy world. Its activities focus on its 23 million customers, and on offering them innovative and sustainable products and services which enable them to use energy more efficiently and improve their quality of life. The key markets are Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Belgium, as well as several countries in Central Eastern and South Eastern Europe, especially the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. In renewable power generation, the company is also active in other regions, e.g. Spain, Italy and the MENAT region (Middle East, North Africa and Turkey), with a total capacity of 3.6 gigawatts. As a leader of innovation in future-oriented fields like eMobility, we are represented in the international hot-spots of the technology industry such as Silicon Valley, Tel Aviv and Berlin. We combine the extensive expertise of our energy technicians and engineers with digital technology partners, from start-ups to major corporates. With planned capital investments of around €6.5 billion (2016-2018), we are building the power market of the future and driving forward the transformation of the energy market. innogy was formed from the restructuring of the RWE Group and started operations on 1 April 2016. Its IPO in October 2016 made innogy SE Germany’s most valuable energy company. innogy is colourful, flexible and full of energy – let’s innogize!

Renewables
innogy is number three worldwide in offshore wind (as at March 2016), with an installed capacity of more than 900 megawatts. In onshore wind too, we are one of the major operators in Europe, with over 1800 megawatts. We plan, build and operate plants to generate power and extract energy from renewable sources. Our aim is to take the expansion of renewables in Europe further in the short term, both on our own and working with partners. We believe that working together in this way is the key to making the energy transition a success. Currently, we are particularly strongly represented in our home market, Germany, followed by the United Kingdom, Spain, the Netherlands and Poland. At the moment we are focusing on continuing to expand our activities in onshore and offshore wind power as well as reinforcing hydro-electric power generation. We are also looking at entering new markets and technologies, such as large-scale photovoltaic plants, even beyond our core European markets. For further information: www.innogy.com