German energy company E.ON has inaugurated the 400MW Rampion offshore wind farm, located 13km off Sussex coast in the UK.
Image: Rampion offshore wind farm. Photo: Courtesy of Rampion Offshore Wind Farm.
E.ON stated that the Rampion offshore wind farm can generate enough electricity to power nearly 350,000 British households, while avoiding 600,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year.
E.ON Climate & Renewables chief operating officer Sven Utermöhlen said: “We continue to see the UK as an attractive market for the expansion of offshore wind. The government’s support for this technology and an intelligent funding system are also exemplary for other countries in Europe.”
The wind farm, which covers an area of 70km2, is powered by 116 turbines whose installation was completed and commissioned in April this year.
Each turbine can generate 3.45MW of power, the turbine hub height is 80m and the total turbine height up to blade tip is 140m. The length of each turbine blade is 55m, while the diameter of the blades spans 112m.
Each of the turbines is supported by a monopile foundation, which weighs between 550 and 800 tons, with lengths between 60 and 80m. Each of the transition pieces weigh 250 tons.
The Rampion offshore wind project, which was built over a period of three years, created 750 jobs during its peak construction.
The total length of inter-array cables is 144km and the length of offshore export cables is 16km. The offshore substation weighs about 3,000 tons and converts power to 150kV, while the onshore substation converts power to 400kV.
The Operations & Maintenance Base for the wind farm was opened in May this year.
The wind farm is owned by E.ON, which is the majority shareholder with 50.1% stake, Canadian energy company Enbridge with 24.9% interest and the remaining 25% stake is owned by a consortium of USS, Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 5 and Macquarie Capital.
E.ON has developed the project through to consent and has managed the construction on behalf of all the three owners.
The German company stated that it has invested nearly €3bn in renewable energy projects in the UK, in the last decade. The completion and commissioning of Rampion brings E.ON’s wind portfolio in the UK to 1.2GW and more than 6GW worldwide.