Offshore wind News

Thursday 16 October 2008

When built, the 1GW London Array offshore wind farm will be the largest offshore wind project in the world

The London Array offshore wind farm took another step out of troubled waters today, with the announcement of a new investor in the 1GW renewable energy development. 

Masdar, the initiative seeking to build a new sustainable city in the Middle East, has bought a 20% stake in the wind farm to be installed in the Thames Estuary.

Owned by the Abu Dhabi government, Masdar joins the London Array's existing partners E.ON and DONG Energy.

Representatives of Masdar will meet senior UK government ministers today at Downing Street to discuss the progress on the project and to reaffirm the UK government's commitment to the London Array scheme, which was rocked by the withdrawal of Shell earlier this year (see this New Energy Focus story).

It had been feared that Shell's decision that the project no longer met its commercial requirements could be symptomatic of wider problems for UK offshore wind.

The importance of the Masdar investment was signalled by the meeting at Downing Street. Commenting on the announcement, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said today: "I very much welcome Masdar's decision to invest in renewable energy in the UK. This is an excellent example of the partnership we need between oil producing and oil consuming countries to develop new energy sources and technologies, diversifying their economies and reducing our dependence on carbon.

"The scale and vision of the London Array is ground breaking and places the UK at the forefront of offshore wind development," he added.

Masdar's investment was made as part of a larger agreement with energy giant E.ON to help develop renewable energy technologies that could be used in the new Masdar city. The investment leaves Danish firm DONG Energy with a 50% stake in the London Array, E.ON with a 30% stake and Masdar the remaining 20% stake.

Masdar said it hoped its involvement in the scheme would strengthen ties with the UK government. The company's chief executive officer, Dr Sultan Al Jaber, said: "Through this project we hope to build a partnership with the UK government to drive the future growth of the renewable energy sector for both our economies."

"World leader"

The London Array project is planned for the outer Thames Estuary, east of London, where as many as 271 turbines will generate 1GW of electricity, enough to power 750,000 homes.

Once given the green light, the scheme will be built 20km off the Kent and Essex coasts, and should become the largest offshore wind farm in the world.

It is hoped than the first stage will be completed in 2012 and will consist of up to 175 turbines. The second stage will add enough capacity to bring the total output to 1GW. The project is looking to use turbines each rated above a 3MW capacity and could use turbines as large as 7MW.

Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Ed Miliband, offered his support for the project today, saying: "The London Array project, at 1GW, will be the largest offshore wind farm in the world. The UK is a world leader in offshore wind technology and, over the next decade, offshore wind will make an important contribution to meeting the UK's renewable energy targets and to the security of our energy supply."

Agreement 

The agreement signed in London today between Masdar and E.ON brings the two companies together into a longer-term partnership. Initially, the focus will be on wind power and the London Array project, but E.ON reports that the two companies expect to announce a series of other renewables projects over the coming months.

It is expected that Masdar and E.ON will work together on Clean Development Mechanism projects; projects that, under the Kyoto protocol, allow companies to earn carbon credits for developing carbon reduction schemes abroad.

E.ON chief executive officer Dr Wulf Bernotat, said: "The London Array offshore wind farm scheme is a pioneering project and marks a significant increase in scale for offshore wind farms in the UK, and also for E.ON. We welcome the Government's continued support for the London Array scheme as we move forward with our partners to realise this important project."