Work continues apace on the 576MW Gwynt y Môr offshore wind farm, off the coast of North Wales. By the end of August, both of the 1,500 tonne offshore substation platforms will have arrived at the offshore site, having been transported by barge from Belfast.

Hailed as a ‘very British success story’, the substations have been designed in Manchester and built in Belfast as a joint project between Siemens and British shipbuilders Harland and Wolff. Using new ‘stressed skin’ technology, the new substations are much lighter than previous designs, making them cheaper to transport and install.

As each substation arrives on site, it will be lifted by crane onto pre-installed foundation structures before array and export cables are connected. Gwynt y Môr project partners RWE and Siemens hope to start exporting power to the national electricity network next year. When the wind farm’s 160 turbines are fully operational, it will have the capacity to power up to a third of all homes in Wales.

The €2 billion project has already created hundreds of jobs in Wales, North West England and Northern Ireland, and contributed an estimated £300 million to the UK economy. Another 100 long term jobs will be created when the wind farm’s operations and maintenance base opens at the Port of Mostyn, North Wales.

Wilding says:‘Gone are the days when all major wind farm components had to be designed and built abroad. These new offshore substations are paving the way for British companies to become exporters, instead of importers, of groundbreaking wind farm technology.’

Source: Business Green