Work has been completed on two giant offshore wind turbines which are set to be tested four miles off the coast of Clacton-on-Sea. Designed and built by Siemens, the pair of six megawatt (MW) turbines has been installed at Gunfleet Sands Offshore Wind Farm, where they join 48 existing turbines.

DONG Energy, the Danish offshore wind farm developer and operator of Gunfleet Sands, installed the next generation turbines, which are almost twice as powerful as the existing 3.6MW models. DONG Director Benji Sykes commented: ‘The Gunfleet Sands demonstration project is a big step in reducing the cost of energy in offshore wind. These are the first two turbines of their kind to be installed offshore in the world.’

If the tests are successful, another 300 of these powerful new turbines are set to be installed at offshore wind farms around the UK – signalling the next step in the industry’s commercialisation.

Wilding says: ‘Another stride forward for the offshore wind sector. And whilst the new technology hasn’t been developed by a British firm, it’s still very encouraging that DONG has invested in trialling the device in UK waters.’

Source: Clacton Gazette