Greater Gabbard wind farm in England

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Greater Gabbard wind farm​

Location of Greater Gabbard wind farm in the North Sea
Country England
Location Inner Gabbard and The Galloper banksNorth SeaSuffolk Coast
Coordinates 51°52′48″N 1°56′24″E / 51.88000°N 1.94000°ECoordinates: 51°52′48″N 1°56′24″E / 51.88000°N 1.94000°E
Status Operational
Commission date 2012
Owner(s) Scottish and SouthernRWE Npower Renewables

Turbine
Turbines 140
Manufacturer(s) Siemens Wind Power
Model(s) SWT3.6-107
Wind farm
Distance from shore 23 km (14 mi)

Power generation
Maximum capacity 504 MW
As of 7 September 2012




Greater Gabbard is a 504 MW wind farm on sandbanks 23 kilometres (14 mi) off the coast of Suffolk in England at a cost between £650 million[1] to £1.5 billion.[2] Onshore construction activities commenced in early July 2008 at Sizewell. It was completed on 7 September 2012 with all of the Siemens SWT3.6-107 turbines connected.[3]
Contents
· 1 History
· 2 Specification
· 3 Incidents
History
The project was originally developed by Greater Gabbard Offshore Winds Limited (GGOWL) which was a joint venture between Airtricity and Fluor. Airtricity was subsequently bought by Scottish and Southern Energy who have bought out Fluor's 50% stake for £40m which is expected to cost £1.3b. Fluor are now contracted to design, supply, installation and commissioning of the balance of the plant.[4] Scottish and Southern sold a 50% stake to RWE, the owners of Npower (UK), in November 2008 for £308m.[5]
The project was given the go-ahead in May 2008 and work started in June. [6] In July 2011 erection of the turbines was two thirds complete, with all the pile foundations installed.
In October 2009 Seajacks Ltd delivered its 7,000 tonne Leviathan vessel to Fluor Ltd which sailed to Harwich to prepare the hook-up and commissioning of an in-field substation and then installation of the turbines.[7] The first foundations were installed in autumn 2009 with the first of a total of 140 turbines installed in the spring 2010.[8] Electricity generation began on 29 December 2010 and construction was completed on 7 September 2012.[9]
An extension of the project, called Galloper, was agreed in May 2013. This will add 140 turbines to the development, producing 504MW of electricity. The wind farm is expected to be completed in 2017.
· Number of turbines: 140[12][2]
· Power rating: 504 MW[12]
· Load factor: 39.6% (estimated)[12]
· Estimated output: 1.75 TWh per year[12]
· Cost: £1512 million[2] (£650 million not counting grid connection)[1]
· Location: offshore, 23 kilometres (14 mi) from Sizewell on the Inner Gabbard and The Galloper sandbanks[4]
· Water Depth: 20m - 32m [1]
Incidents
On 12 November 2009, a man was killed and a woman injured after a chain broke and the two people were hit with pieces of the chain. Police responded to the incident, and an investigation was launched. The casualties were on board a tugboat, the Typhoon.[13]
On 21 May 2010, a man died and another suffered serious injuries following an accident at Parkeston Quay, Harwich. Per Terp, a 42-year-old Siemens engineer from Norresundby, Denmark, died in the incident. A 43-year-old German national was taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital. The incident happened at about 7.50 am while loading a wind turbine blade on the vessel Seajack.

No Doubt Great Work For National Development