The first turbine has been installed at Triton Knoll offshore wind farm - the biggest yet to join the Humber cluster.

The Vestas v164-9.5 MW creates a new record within the world-leading arrays - with more than three times the generating capacity of the first to be installed off the Lincolnshire coast.

A total of 90 huge machines will make up the latest farm, from RWE. A single sweep of the blades of one 187m installation will power a single home for nearly 30 hours.

First generation is anticipated this spring.

All blades, nacelles and tower sections are being handled at a specialist turbine pre-assembly and construction base, established by Triton Knoll and Vestas at Able Seaton Port, in Teesside.

Installation is being carried out by Deme, using the jack-up vessel Wind Osprey, provided by Cadeler.

Specialist jack-up vessel Wind Osprey seen in the distance with a Triton Knoll offshore substation in the foreground.
Specialist jack-up vessel Wind Osprey seen in the distance with a Triton Knoll offshore substation in the foreground.

A dedicated construction and operations and maintenance co-ordination base has also been launched on Grimsby’s Royal Dock, from where the site will be managed for its lifetime.

Power comes ashore at Anderby Creek, connecting to the grid at Bicker Fen, close to Boston.

It is not the first 9.5MW turbine in Ƶ waters, with Kincardine taking that role in November last year - albeit a floating, not fixed, installation.

Triton Knoll's latest milestone comes almost to the year since the first offshore installation, when the first monopile foundation was piled into the North Sea.

Once complete, Triton Knoll - the seventh offshore wind farm to join the Grimsby cluster - will provide 857MW of green electricity, becoming part of a near-10GW known pipeline. Almost 2.7GW is operational so far.

Katherine York, chair of Grimsby Renewables Partnership, said: “I am delighted to see the progress on installation of the turbines at Triton Knoll. We welcome the continued expansion of offshore wind in this area. Grimsby is the heart of operations and maintenance of Ƶ offshore wind farms and a key location for activities in the North Sea. The significance of operations and maintenance to the region cannot be understated, it provides long-term, skilled employment and creates opportunities for innovation and growth within the supply chain.”