ScottishPower Renewables (SPR) has begun construction on East Anglia THREE, its second windfarm off the Suffolk coast.
East Anglia THREE lies around 40 miles off Great Yarmouth coast and is one of three consented offshore wind projects that form the company’s 3.1-gigawatt (GW), £6.5billion East Anglia Hub.
The THREE scheme will make up around 1.4GW of this capacity, with up to 263 turbines spread across the three Hub sites. SPR says this capacity is enough to power around 1.3 million homes and forms a “significant portion” of the government’s target for 50GW of offshore wind by 2030.
All the hub projects – including East Anglia ONE North, TWO and THREE – will support up to 7,000 jobs and 200 training opportunities across their development, construction and operations, and offer a steady stream of work for the UK supply chain.
Another site, East Anglia ONE, was completed in 2020 after investment of some £2.5bn by backers SPR and Macquarie’s Green Investment Group.
The first part of the construction programme for East Anglia THREE will focus on the onshore converter station at Bramford in Suffolk – built in partnership with Siemens Energy and Aker Solutions – and along the cable route, with work by contractor NKT.
Work on the construction access road at the onshore converter station has started and drainage and earthworks are expected to be completed by the end of the year, SPR said.
Highway works for the three construction compounds along the cable corridor are also underway, with three access roads and one compound expected to be complete by the end of August.
East Anglia THREE will also follow the same cable corridor as the existing ONE scheme, meaning there is no need to create new cable trenches.
SPR managing director for offshore East Anglia Ross Ovens said: “Net zero climate change ambitions, energy security and the rising cost of living all point to the need for speed in delivering a greener, more self-sufficient future. Starting construction on EA THREE takes us one step closer to that reality and it’s great to see that happen so soon after the project’s success in Allocation Round 4.
“It’s a really exciting time for us and for the East of England.”
Offshore work is slated to begin in 2024, subject to a final investment decision (FID) by the operator.
Pending other approvals this year, construction at East Anglia TWO and East Anglia ONE North would commence in 2023.
The hub is expected to be complete in 2026.
Recommended for you
