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As
of the 1st of July, the turbines have begun supplying power to the grid
at Vattenfall's European Offshore Wind Deployment Center (EOWDC). Located
off the coast of Aberdeen, the project will be capable of supplying 80,000
homes with electricity per year.
Gunnar Groebler, Head of Business Area Wind
at Vattenfall, says: “The fact that EOWDC now can start delivering
electricity after a very short construction time is satisfactory.
A sincere “thank you” to all people involved, both from Vattenfall and
from our partners for making it happen. Now Vattenfall is given the opportunity
to continue to push forward the development of tomorrow's wind power technology,
thus helping our customers to live fossil-free within a generation.”
The eleven wind turbines, two 8.8MW and nine
8.4MW, have the largest turbine capacity in commercial operation in the
world. One single rotor lap from the record 8.8MW turbine provides a British
household with electricity for a full day.
The technology for building the foundations of the turbine towers is also
new. Instead of using traditional monopiles, a new technique has been used
at Aberdeen Bay; known as suction buckets.
For studies of marine wildlife around wind farms, EOWDC
has received EUR 0.5 million in support from the EU. Dolphins, salmon,
sea trout and sea birds are some of the species to be studied at the wind
farm.
As one of Scotland’s largest offshore test
and demonstration facility, the 92.4MW EOWDC will trial next generation
technology and, once constructed, will aim to generate the equivalent of
70% of Aberdeen's domestic electricity demand and annually displace 132,977
tonnes of CO2 per year.
For more information follow the links provided.
