18.02.15
Council welcomes approval of world’s largest offshore wind farm
The government has given planning consent to develop the world’s largest offshore wind farm, which is expected to support up to 900 green jobs in the Yorkshire and Humberside region.
Dogger Bank Creyke Beck A and B wind projects will include up to 400 wind turbines, around 130km off the coast of the East Riding of Yorkshire – covering a maximum area of 430 square miles.
Cllr Stephen Parnaby OBE, leader of East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said he welcomed the news, adding that the wide-scale economic benefits this investment and others have for the East Riding cannot be overstated.
He said: “This project is yet another landmark moment for the Humber region and follows recent announcements by Siemens and Able UK, who will be building multi-million-pound wind turbine manufacturing facilities.
“All of these investments are helping the area to realise its ambition of becoming the hub for renewable energy in the UK.”
The Dogger Bank project is being developed by Forewind, a venture between four international energy companies: SSE Renewables, RWE, Statoil and Statkraft.
Energy and climate change secretary Ed Davey MP said: “Making the most of Britain’s home grown energy is creating jobs and businesses in the UK, getting the best deal for consumers and reducing our reliance on foreign imports.
“Wind power is vital to this plan, with £14.5bn invested since 2010 into an industry which supports 35,400 jobs.”
RenewableUK, the UK’s leading renewable energy trade association, added that Dogger Bank is the largest consented offshore wind project in the world, with an installed capacity of up to 2.4 gigawatts (GW), enough to meet the needs of 1.8 million households, and on its own supply around 2.5% of UK electricity.
However, projects A and B are only the first consented phases of the much larger Dogger Bank zone, which comprises six sites with an estimated total capacity of up to 7.2GW.
Nick Medic, RenewableUK’s director of Offshore Renewables, said: “This is an awesome project. It will surely be considered as one of the most significant infrastructure projects ever undertaken by the wind industry. A colossal wind energy power station right in the middle of the North Sea, comprising hundreds of offshore wind turbines over 80 miles off shore.
“Dogger Bank demonstrates the sheer potential of offshore technology to turn our vast ocean and wind resources into green energy. It is a project that pushes the offshore engineering envelope – demonstrating how far this technology has evolved in the 10 short years since the first major offshore wind farm was installed in North Hoyle just five miles from shore.”
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