The Vattenfall Ormonde Offshore Wind Farm, off the coast of Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria, has been declared officially open. Vattenfall’s president and CEO, Øystein Løseth and John Woodcock, MP for Furness, were joined by 150 VIP guests for the opening ceremony on 23 September.
Describing the project as ‘one of the most innovative operational wind farms in the world,’ Mr Løseth expressed Vattenfall’s pride in their achievements and learnings, which will help inform future offshore wind farm developments around the world.
He also confirmed the Swedish company’s continued support for initiatives that will help the Barrow area benefit from the wind farm. The region’s economy has already received ‘a massive boost’ during the construction phase and now the project is operational, it will provide a number of long-term jobs in the local area.
Key facts for Ormonde Offshore Wind Farm
- 30 turbines spread over an 8.7km2 area, 10km off the Barrow coast
- Operations and maintenance base at the port of Barrow
- 150MW capacity – enough to power 100,000 homes
- Expected to generate around 500 gigawatt hours of electricity a year
- Offshore construction began in May 2010, completed in summer 2012
- First power generated in August 2011
- Vattenfall invested £500m in the project, a third of which went to UK firms.
Wilding says:‘The completion of the Ormonde project marks another major milestone in UK offshore wind energy development. This wind farm has made a major contribution to economic regeneration in the Barrow area and will continue to do so into the future.’
Sources: The Westmorland Gazetteand North West Evening Mail
