Turbine commissioning has been successfully carried out at one of the world’s largest offshore wind farms.
German renewables firm RWE confirmed on Thursday that the major milestone for Triton Knoll had been achieved on time, despite the impacts of Covid-19.
Once fully operational, Triton Knoll will have an installed capacity of 857 megawatts (MW) – it will be able to meet the energy needs of around 800,000 homes a year,
Standing at 164 meters tall, the project’s 90 turbines are expected to be fully operational by the end of March.
Triton Knoll represents an investment of around £2 billion that includes construction of the wind farm and the grid connection.
It is jointly owned by RWE (59%), J-Power (25%) and Kansai Electric Power (16%).
RWE led the wind farm’s development and construction – it will also operate and maintain it on behalf of the project partners.
Plans are also in the pipeline to expand the Triton Knoll operations & maintenance base in Grimsby to enable it to cater for future projects.
The facility has the potential to create around 60 new, local jobs.
Julian Garnsey, project director for RWE and Triton Knoll, said: “I am very proud of the Triton Knoll team’s achievement in completing the commissioning of the turbines on this nationally significant infrastructure project.
“The construction team has shown a huge amount of resilience in reaching this milestone. I want to thank our supply chain partners and all those that have worked so hard on our sites to keep the project on track, despite the many challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic.”
By the end of the decade RWE has pledged to invest around £42 billion in expanding its green generation capacity.
About £15bn of that has been earmarked for the UK.
Sven Utermöhlen, chief executive of offshore wind at RWE Renewables, said: “Commissioning the final turbine at Triton Knoll is a huge achievement, especially during a global pandemic.
“It’s a great credit to the project team and to our supply chain partners that we have reached this milestone on time.
“The UK plays a key role in the delivery of RWE’s Growing Green strategy and Triton Knoll is currently one of the largest offshore wind project realized by RWE.
“We are driving forward up to 2.6 GW of new projects off the coast of the UK, in addition to the 1.4 GW Sofia Offshore Wind Farm: As RWE we are committed to supporting the UK government’s ambitious offshore wind targets.”
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