Orsted’s 1000th turbine was installed as part of 165 turbines in its HornSea II offshore wind farm coming up in the Yorkshire coast, expected to be operational by 2022
Top view of a Siemens Gamesa turbine installed as part of Orsted’s HornSea II offshore wind farm in Yorkshire, UK. Credit: Orsted website
Orsted has finished constructing its thousandth turbine in English waters. The turbine is among the 165 Siemens Gamesa turbines to be installed in Orsted’s HornSea II project off the East Yorkshire coast. Once operational, the 1.4GW HornSea II will arguably be the world’s largest offshore wind farm. Orsted has been in the business of developing wind farms in the UK since 2004. Its plants constitute more than 50% of all wind farms in the country.
The milestone is a significant one for Britain, which has been steadily working towards boosting its renewable economy for the past decade. Orsted and other renewable energy firms across various sectors have initiated several projects in the country with support from the government.
Increased production of wind energy also has benefits for citizens. Increasing the amount of electricity generated from renewable sources allows for a wider choice of tariffs, including the option to switch away from fossil fuel-generated energy. The proliferation of offshore wind energy has been such that many British electricity suppliers already offer tariffs that offer electricity which is 100% sustainably sourced.
Duncan Clark, Ørsted’s Regional Head, said: “This is a significant milestone for the company, the industry and the UK’s journey to a cleaner energy system. The UK is the world leader in offshore wind, with the largest installed capacity and projects like Hornsea Two are helping the country to make significant strides towards the government’s legally binding net zero targets. The transformation we have seen since our first offshore wind installations is nothing short of incredible – with turbines more than doubling in size and the cost of electricity generated dropping by more than half. When Hornsea Two is completed in 2022, our UK fleet of offshore wind farms will be capable of generating enough clean electricity to power more than 5.5 million homes.”
