December 17, 2011
England

Energy giant reveals details of Humber Gateway wind farm

Hull Daily Mail, www.thisishullandeastriding.co.uk 17 December 2011

An energy company has revealed its Humber Gateway wind farm will comprise 73 turbines generating enough energy to power up to 170,000 homes.

Plans for the Humber Gateway, located five miles off the East Coast, were first unveiled in 2007.

Since then, E.ON has held a series of consultations with residents, fishermen and potential supply chain companies.

The project aims to create up to 1,000 jobs during construction, with a further 30 roles to operate and maintain the wind farm once it is operational.

The company has now confirmed how many turbines the farm will consist of and how much energy it will produce.

Prime Minister David Cameron said: “I welcome E.ON’s significant investment, which is a vote of confidence in renewable energy and in the UK market.

“It will create 1,000 jobs in the next few years, spearhead development of the UK’s fast-growing offshore wind supply chain and strengthen links between the UK and Germany in renewables and grid.”

The site of the wind farm is just north of the mouth of the River Humber.

The project should be completed in spring 2015.

Dr Tony Cocker, chief executive officer of E.ON UK, said: “This isn’t just an important announcement for E.ON, but is also a significant announcement for the UK.

“Increasing the proportion of electricity we generate from low carbon, renewable sources is a vital part of meeting the energy challenges we all face.”

The Humber Gateway forms part of a £2 billion investment programme by E.ON in offshore wind energy.

Other projects include Amrumbank off the coast of Germany and Kårehamn off the coast of Sweden.

Amrumbank will be E.ON’s first commercial offshore wind farm in Germany and will use Siemens 3.6MW turbines.

Humber Gateway and Kårehamn will use new Vestas V112 3.0MW turbines.

The announcement comes just days after Siemens and Associated British Ports announced the submission of an outline planning application for a wind turbine factory at Alexandra Dock, east Hull.

The facility will be located in Green Port Hull – the name given to the project, which will see the transformation and regeneration of the dock.

As well as a factory for the manufacture of the turbines, the project also includes a 600-metre riverside berth and export facilities, offices, storage and car parking.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/12/17/energy-giant-reveals-details-of-humber-gateway-wind-farm/