Irish Sea - harnessing 1GW from wind power
For the almost 10 years the Irish Sea has been bristling with strange looking vessels with legs rising tens of metres into the air. The vessels known as jack-up rigs were based at the Port of Mostyn in North Wales and Cammell Laird in Birkenhead, Wirral.
The large vessels which had been departing the Port of Mostyn for a number of years were laden with components to be used to build some of the largest off-shore wind farms in the UK.
The jack-up rigs, as the name implies can jack-up off of the sea bed in order to provide a stable platform from which to construct the wind turbines. Barges departed from Cammell Laird on a regular basis laden with mono-piles and foundations to be used to secure the wind turbines to the sea bed.
Wind turbine towers, hubs and blades which make up the Siemens' 3.6MW turbines were stored and shipped from the Port of Mostyn. The towers were pre-assembled on shore and then shipped to the wind farm for installation.
A number of large wind farms have already been complete, they are Robin Rigg, Burbo Bank, Rhyl Flats, North Hoyle and Arklow Bank. Robin Rigg the most recent wind farm to be brought on-line was completed in 2010 and consists of 60 Vestas wind turbines generating 180 MW.
Together the 5 wind farms consist of 174 wind turbines, which can generate up 445 KW of clean power, enough electricity for about 300,000 homes. It is claimed that Robin Rigg alone with displace the equivalent of 200,000 tonnes of CO2.
Impressive as these figures are, the wind farms individually some of the largest in the country will soon be eclipsed by the 160 turbines which make up Gwynt y Môr wind farm, located off the coast of North Wales.
The Gwynt y Môr wind farm funded by RWE Innogy is due to come on-line later this year (2015). The wind farm once complete will be able to generate up to 576 MW of electricity enough for 400,000 homes.
In May 2010 the Crown Estate awarded a lease agreement to DONG energy in order to extend the Burbo Bank offshore wind farm by a further 234 MW. Permission to extend the wind farm was finally granted in September 2014.
In December 2014 final investment decisions were made with DONG Energy choosing to construct the wind farm extension. This has paved the way for construction to commence this year (2015), with the extension due to come on-line in 2016/17
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This image below from the archive gives some sense of scale. Turbine foundation monopoles stood upright next the the enormous fabrication shed at Cammell Laird
The large vessels which had been departing the Port of Mostyn for a number of years were laden with components to be used to build some of the largest off-shore wind farms in the UK.
The jack-up rigs, as the name implies can jack-up off of the sea bed in order to provide a stable platform from which to construct the wind turbines. Barges departed from Cammell Laird on a regular basis laden with mono-piles and foundations to be used to secure the wind turbines to the sea bed.
Wind turbine towers, hubs and blades which make up the Siemens' 3.6MW turbines were stored and shipped from the Port of Mostyn. The towers were pre-assembled on shore and then shipped to the wind farm for installation.
A number of large wind farms have already been complete, they are Robin Rigg, Burbo Bank, Rhyl Flats, North Hoyle and Arklow Bank. Robin Rigg the most recent wind farm to be brought on-line was completed in 2010 and consists of 60 Vestas wind turbines generating 180 MW.
Together the 5 wind farms consist of 174 wind turbines, which can generate up 445 KW of clean power, enough electricity for about 300,000 homes. It is claimed that Robin Rigg alone with displace the equivalent of 200,000 tonnes of CO2.
Impressive as these figures are, the wind farms individually some of the largest in the country will soon be eclipsed by the 160 turbines which make up Gwynt y Môr wind farm, located off the coast of North Wales.
The Gwynt y Môr wind farm funded by RWE Innogy is due to come on-line later this year (2015). The wind farm once complete will be able to generate up to 576 MW of electricity enough for 400,000 homes.
In May 2010 the Crown Estate awarded a lease agreement to DONG energy in order to extend the Burbo Bank offshore wind farm by a further 234 MW. Permission to extend the wind farm was finally granted in September 2014.
In December 2014 final investment decisions were made with DONG Energy choosing to construct the wind farm extension. This has paved the way for construction to commence this year (2015), with the extension due to come on-line in 2016/17
[edit]
This image below from the archive gives some sense of scale. Turbine foundation monopoles stood upright next the the enormous fabrication shed at Cammell Laird
Burbo bank situated in Liverpool bay
Steel monopile foundation structures being transported from Cammell Laird to the Irish Sea
Siemens wind turbine hubs lined up at the Port of Mostyn
Wind turbine blades lined up at the Port of Mostyn
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