2GW of offshore wind capacity now installed in the Humber region

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2GW of offshore wind capacity now installed in the Humber region

Grimsby's operations milestone passes as 'world leader in waiting' Hornsea hits halfway point

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David LaisterBusiness Editor (Humber)

11:01, 18 JUN 2019
Updated15:20, 21 JUN 2019

Hornsea One - the world's largest wind farm in waiting - has reached the halfway point in commissioning, with 87 of the 174 turbines now generating. It is operated and maintained out of Grimsby. (Image: Orsted)

Grimsby has hit 2GW of offshore wind installed capacity – underlining the credentials it is hoped will help the Humber become a pilot for the Prime Minister’s Net Zero ambition.

The momentous milestone was passed after it was revealed Orsted’s Hornsea One – soon to become the world’s largest farm – is now 50 per cent commissioned.

That means that 87 turbines of the 174 to be installed are generating - giving the team at the Royal Dock-located East Coast Hub the capability to bring ashore 609 MW, significantly shifting up the 1.4GW figure celebrated last January as the last installation - Race Bank - completed.

The last gigawatt has been achieved in almost exactly two years, with 1GW hit in late June 2017, having taken a decade to reach the first.

It comes as Theresa May set a goal of 2050 for an end to climate change contributions by the ��Ƶ, with Humber Local Enterprise Partnership chairman Lord Haskins having put forward the ambitious target of 2040 for the region. He immediately highlighted the potential for the perfect pilot to the PM.

North East Lincolnshire Council's cabinet member for regeneration, Cllr John Fenty, said: “This is fantastic news, and proof that Grimsby is truly leading the way in terms of offshore wind. The town is being recognised as such from colleagues from across the globe with recent visits from delegations from China and Australia. By working together with businesses large and small in the core industry and the supply chain, we’ve helped to provide a world-class centre here, in North East Lincolnshire.”

Hornsea One entered the turbine installation phase in February. It is due to reach full completion in the first quarter of 2020, and will power well over one million homes when fully operational.

The Edda Passat in the Race Bank offshore wind farm, operated and maintained from Grimsby by Orsted. (Image: Orsted)

Grimsby's rise to ��Ƶ - and de facto world - leader started with the dual sites of Lynn and Inner Dowsing, brought forward by Centrica. Work began in 2007, off the Skegness coastline. Turbines of 3.6MW were used, with 27 at each site, providing a total capacity of 194MW.

Tony Lyon is managing director of Xceco, a company he formed to take on a role vacated by Centrica in Grimsby, when the gas-focused utility provider left the industry.

He said: “2GW is fantastic news. Centrica was the first in the area all those years ago, and the site is now over 11 years old, still generating and performing very, very well. It is fantastic to see all the new entrants that have come in, and the further developments even further offshore.

“It is great for the economy and great for the area, a huge boost providing jobs and education for the young people coming to the work. It really is a good news story.”

Lincs followed, in deeper water behind, with Centrica again using the same Siemens technology, only this time on a much larger scale. There 75 turbines provide a 270MW capacity, and it remains – at present – the largest operated out of Grimsby, having been officially opened by then Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg in 2013.

Humber Gateway, E.on’s development just north of the mouth of the Humber and the one clearly visible from Cleethorpes, added a further 219MW with 73 MHI Vestas 3MW turbines. Orsted's first project in Grimsby, Westermost Rough, brought a scale change, with 35 Siemens turbines with 6MW of capacity installed off East Yorkshire, then the biggest machines in the world.

Race Bank's 91 machines followed, the first to see Green Port Hull deployed, providing 573MW of capacity.

Hornsea also brings turbine numbers over 400 - 415 and counting - with plans for phases two, three and four, and a Race Bank extension all from the Danish giant, as well as Innogy's Triton Knoll still to come. Together they set a clear path to 8GW for Grimsby.

Reacting to the news, Renewable��Ƶ’s head of external affairs, Luke Clark, said: “Installing two gigawatts of offshore wind in the Humber is a terrific achievement, generating clean power for over two million homes a year.

"This latest milestone shows yet again that the Humber is at the heart of the ��Ƶ’s renewable energy industry. There is much more to come, as the ��Ƶ is set to increase its overall offshore wind capacity from 8GW now to at least 30GW by 2030, with massive investment in infrastructure and manufacturing. This means that 27,000 people will be working in the offshore wind industry in highly skilled jobs by the end of the next decade.

"Now that the industry has agreed the landmark Offshore Wind Sector Deal with government, and ministers have committed to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, this region is set to become a powerhouse of the ��Ƶ’s transition to clean energy."

Orsted's completed Race Bank offshore wind farm, operated and maintained from Grimsby. (Image: Orsted)

The under-construction site features Siemens Gamesa 7MW turbines, imported and assembled in Hull, where the blades are made, and will be nearly double the size of the current leader, Walney Extension, off the west coast.

They are transported on huge jack-up vessels to the site, 120km from shore – another record – to an area spanning 407 sq km. That is 58,000 times the size of the Blundell Park home of Grimsby Town FC, where the nacelles, towers and blades have sailed by, four at a time, as work has pushed on.

One rotation of a blade, which takes around six seconds and reaches a height of 190m, can power a home for over 24 hours.

The generated electricity goes via inter array cables to one of three offshore substations, where it is converted to high voltage. The electricity is then transmitted via the world’s first offshore reactive compensation station, which is around half way between the site and the shore, to landfall at Horseshoe Point, skirting North East Lincolnshire and connecting to the national grid at a £25 million new onshore substation at North Killingholme. One further first includes the longest ever AC offshore wind export cable system at a total length of 467 km – roughly the distance from London to Newcastle.

A control system manages data from 30,000 separate connection points to the equipment of the wind farm, providing full data for Siemens Gamesa and Orsted to work from.

Darren Ramshaw, head of operations for Race Bank offshore wind farm, said: “Having commissioned half of Hornsea One’s turbines, we’re pleased that Grimsby can now boast an impressive 2GW of installed capacity.

“Already a world leader in offshore wind development, the town has another accolade to add to its many successes within the sector. We recently hosted delegation visits from Taiwan and Australia in order to showcase Grimsby as an industry leading town.”