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714MW
East Anglia ONE has submitted
new documentation to The Planning Inspectorate enlisting changes that will
be made to its transmissions assets, responsible for exporting the wind
farm's electricity to shore. New plans unveiled that the development will
no longer support an HVDC converter station but instead opt for the more
matured HVAC technology. The Round
3 project, which was awarded subsidies under the Contracts for Difference
(CfD) regime earlier this year, will now house two offshore substations
and two export cables to shore up to a
400kV rating.
The lack of confidence in HVDC technology
is primarily due to its high build costs. Although the cables are more
efficient and reduce losses when transferring power over long distances,
the operational cost savings currently cannot justify its implementation.
Plans for an HVDC converter were also scrapped at DONG Energy's 1.2GW
Hornsea Project One earlier
this year: Ramboll will supply a 'Reactive Compensation' substation half-way
across the export cable route to help mitigate long-distance power loss
in HVAC technology - the substation will be the first of its kind.
In February, ScottishPower Renewables announced
a revised project design for 714MW
East Anglia ONE featuring 102
of Siemens' 7MW flagship turbine.
Keith Anderson, CEO of ScottishPower Renewables, stated
at the time of the contract award: “East Anglia ONE will be the most
cost effective offshore windfarm ever delivered. Selecting the turbine
supplier will be the single largest agreement for East Anglia ONE, and
the most significant in terms of achieving important cost reduction goals.
We are confident that we have selected the most efficient offshore wind
turbines in the world, and we look forward to working with Siemens to deliver
a successful project.”
ScottishPower Renewables is helping to
realise a reduction in the cost of offshore wind power through East
Anglia ONE, with a cost
of electricity set at £119/MWh after a successful bid in the competitive
UK Government auction held earlier this year. This will be made possible
by ScottishPower’s selection of the most cost-effective technology solutions,
including the HVAC transmission to shore and the next-generation turbines.
"East Anglia ONE will be the most
cost effective offshore wind farm ever delivered."
ScottishPower Renewables forecasts the
start of construction in 2017, with the first turbines installed by 2019
and the project becoming fully operational during 2020.
