is a 576-
megawatt
The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...
(MW)
offshore wind farm located off the coast of north
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
and is the fifth largest operating offshore windfarm in the world. The farm has 160 wind turbines of tip height above mean sea level.
Planning consent for the project was granted on 3 December 2008. The project has a value of 2 billion Euros, of which 1.2 billion Euros were spent on turbines and electrical connections. Construction began in 2012, power production started in September 2013, construction phase ended in November 2014, and final commissioning occurred in June 2015.
In May 2020 plans to add up to 107 new turbines were submitted to
Flintshire Council, increasing the windfarm by an extra 41 square miles, with a generating capacity of at least 100 megawatts.
Design and planning
As with all offshore wind farms in the UK the
Crown Estate owns the seabed at Gwynt y Môr. It has agreed to lease the land to RWE npower renewables. The wind farm is located close to the existing
North Hoyle and
Rhyl Flats offshore wind farms. These projects are wholly or partly owned by
E.ON Next renewables, a subsidiary of German company
RWE. In the case of Gwynt y Môr, RWE holds 50%,
Stadtwerke München holds 30%, Siemens holds 10% and
UK Green Investment Bank holds 10%.
With 160 turbines
[RWE Innogy, Stadtwerke München and Siemens build offshore wind farm Gwynt y Môr](_blank)
/ref> of 3.6MW Siemens SWT-3.6-107, Gwynt y Môr will be Wales' largest wind farm. The output of 1,950 GWh per year is capable of powering around 400,000 homes, or 30% of the homes in Wales. This prevents the release of about 1.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...
every year.[
Planning consent for the project was granted on 3 December 2008. The project has a value of 2 billion Euros. 1.2 billion Euros will go to Siemens for turbines and electrical connections.
Two floating experimental ]LIDAR
Lidar (, also LIDAR, an acronym of "light detection and ranging" or "laser imaging, detection, and ranging") is a method for determining ranging, ranges by targeting an object or a surface with a laser and measuring the time for the reflected li ...
wind measurement stations have been tested at the site for two years.
Construction
Construction work began offshore in January 2011 when pieces of rock were laid on softer parts of the seabed to secure the foundations of the turbines.[windpoweroffshore.com, David Weston]
UK: RWE has completed the construction phase of the 576MW Gwynt y Mor project ahead of final commissioning next year
, 24 November 2014
See also
* Wind power in the United Kingdom
* List of offshore wind farms
* List of offshore wind farms in the United Kingdom
* List of offshore wind farms in the Irish Sea
* npower (UK)
References
External links
Gwynt y Môr
, RWE Innogy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gwynt Y Mor
2015 establishments in Wales
Energy infrastructure completed in 2015
Offshore wind farms in the Irish Sea
Round 2 offshore wind farms
RWE
Wind farms in Wales