First power has been generated from RWE Renewables’ Triton Knoll Offshore Wind Farm off the east coast of England.
It follows the recent delivery of onshore and offshore electrical infrastructure, which were delivered on schedule despite the challenges of constructing during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Required commissioning activities have subsequently been carried out on the project’s transmission system, enabling the export of power to the UK National Grid for the first time.
A period of rigorous testing and commissioning will now take place, while the project continues to install the remainder of its 90 Vestas V164-9.5 MW turbines.
Installation, which began in January, is being carried out by Belgian-firm DEME using the jack-up vessel Wind Osprey.
Triton Knoll is located around 20 miles off the Lincolnshire coast.
It is jointly owned by RWE (59%), J-Power (25%) and Kansai Electric Power (16%), with the former leading both the wind farm’s construction and the long-term operation and maintenance works.
Total planned investment volume amounts to approximately £2 billion.
With complete turbine commissioning due in 2021, and final project completion expected in early 2022, Triton Knoll wind farm will have an installed capacity of 857 megawatts.
It will be capable of supplying green electricity equivalent to about 800,000 UK homes and will be RWE’s largest offshore wind farm.
Tom Glover, CCO RWE Renewables and RWE UK country chairman, said: “Achieving first power at Triton Knoll reinforces our position as a leading player in offshore wind and demonstrates our commitment to helping deliver the UK’s ambition to grow offshore wind capacity to 40 gigawatts by 2030.
“Today’s milestone is the result of many years’ collaboration with our local and national supply chain partners, and local communities with whom we have worked hard to deliver local benefits, jobs and investments, while investing in new renewable energy for over 800,000 UK homes.”
Sven Utermöhlen, COO wind offshore global at RWE Renewables, said: “The successful first generation is a fantastic achievement for our Triton Knoll project, which has delivered first power on schedule while coping with the many challenges posed by the Corona pandemic.
“It is a great credit to the project team and to all our supply chain partners that we have achieved this milestone, and demonstrates our expertise and positive track-record for delivering significant offshore infrastructure.
“I’m incredibly proud of all the team and everyone who is working on this fantastic project for all that they have achieved. We are well on track to complete turbine commissioning in 2021, with final project completion of Triton Knoll in early 2022.”
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