Vattenfall inaugurates 54.4MW Ray wind farm in UK

Vattenfall has inaugurated the Ray Wind Farm in Northumberland, UK, which has 16 turbines and will generate enough green electricity to supply 30.000 UK households.

Gunnar Groebler, Vattenfall Wind Senior Vice President, says: “Vattenfall is in Britain to grow. Ray Wind Farm is part of that growth story. We are close to 1GW of installed capacity in the UK, next year I look forward to breaking through 1GW in the UK and by 2025 hitting our European target of 7GW. With projects like Ray Wind Farm we are well on our way”.

Ray Wind Farm, at 54.4MW, is a modest project compared to Vattenfall’s recently completed 228MW Pen y Cymoedd, its big sister in south Wales, but its benefits are still substantial. In a year, it would meet the annual electricity needs of 30,000 UK households and prevent 50,000 tonnes of climate changing CO2entering the atmosphere.

“Standing under a 125-metre tall, 379 tonne, wind turbine and watching its three blades turning gently in a stiff breeze reminds me, like no other, why I do what I do. Just one full spin of these blades will power the average British house for nine hours with fossil free power and this is what Vattenfall does. This is what Vattenfall will continue to do. Vattenfall will be fossil free in one generation”, says Gunnar Groebler.

Vattenfall will invest £250,000 a year throughout the life of the wind farm into a locally run community fund, administered by the Community Foundation. The fund is planned to be launched later this summer. 

In 2018, Vattenfall will complete the installation of its European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre, off Aberdeen, and with that Vattenfall will operate more than 1GW of installed capacity in the UK. In 2008, when Vattenfall made a significant move into the UK, it operated 90MW.