Gwynt y Môr

Gwynt y Môr Wind Farm
Map
CountryWales, UK
Locationoff the coast of Wales, UK
Coordinates53°27′N 3°35′W / 53.45°N 3.58°W / 53.45; -3.58
StatusOperational
Commission date
  • 18 June 2015
Construction cost€2bn
OwnerRWE
OperatorGwynt y Môr Offshore Wind Farm Limited
Wind farm
Type
Max. water depth12–33 m (39–108 ft)
Distance from shore18 km (11.2 mi)
Hub height98 m (322 ft)
Rotor diameter107 m (351 ft)
Site area80 km2 (30.9 sq mi)
Power generation
Units operational160 × 3.6 MW
Make and modelSiemens Gamesa SWT-3.6-107 (160)
Nameplate capacity
  • 576 MW
Capacity factor31.7%[1]
External links
CommonsRelated media on Commons
[edit on Wikidata]
Map
Wind farm layout

Gwynt y Môr (Welsh for 'sea wind') is a 576-megawatt (MW) offshore wind farm located off the coast of north Wales and is the fifth largest operating offshore windfarm in the world. The farm has 160 wind turbines of 150 metres (490 ft) tip height above mean sea level.[2]

Planning consent for the project was granted on 3 December 2008. The project has a value of 2 billion Euros, of which 1.2 billion Euros were spent on turbines and electrical connections. Construction began in 2012, power production started in September 2013, construction phase ended in November 2014, and final commissioning occurred in June 2015.[3]

In May 2020 plans to add up to 107 new turbines were submitted to Flintshire Council, increasing the windfarm by an extra 41 square miles, with a generating capacity of at least 100 megawatts.[4]

Design and planning

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As with all offshore wind farms in the UK the Crown Estate[5] owns the seabed at Gwynt y Môr. It has agreed to lease the land to RWE npower renewables. The wind farm is located close to the existing North Hoyle and Rhyl Flats offshore wind farms. These projects are wholly or partly owned by RWE npower renewables, a subsidiary of German company RWE. In the case of Gwynt y Môr, RWE holds 50%, Stadtwerke München holds 30%, Siemens holds 10% and UK Green Investment Bank holds 10%.[6]

With 160 turbines[7] of 3.6MW Siemens SWT-3.6-107, Gwynt y Môr will be Wales' largest wind farm. The output of 1,950 GWh per year is capable of powering around 400,000 homes, or 30% of the homes in Wales. This prevents the release of about 1.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide every year.[7][8]

Planning consent for the project was granted on 3 December 2008.[9] The project has a value of 2 billion Euros. 1.2 billion Euros will go to Siemens for turbines and electrical connections.

Two floating experimental LIDAR wind measurement stations have been tested at the site for two years.[10]

Construction

[edit]

Construction work began offshore in January 2011 when pieces of rock were laid on softer parts of the seabed to secure the foundations of the turbines.[11] Work began on laying undersea cables from the windfarm to the shore in August 2012.[12] The project uses four 132 kV subsea cables manufactured by NKT.[13] In order to feed electricity into the national grid, a substation was built near St Asaph in Denbighshire.[12]

Power production started in September 2013.[14] Final commissioning was completed on 18 June 2015.[3][15]

Its levelised cost has been estimated at £179/MWh.[16]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "UK offshore wind capacity factors". 27 January 2017. Archived from the original on 19 February 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  2. ^ "RWE Innogy - Tech and Spec". Archived from the original on 13 January 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
  3. ^ a b windpoweroffshore.com, David Weston, UK: RWE has completed the construction phase of the 576MW Gwynt y Mor project ahead of final commissioning next year Archived 29 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine, 24 November 2014
  4. ^ "Large wind farm off North Wales coast could be set to grow further with plans for 107 new turbines". North.Wales. Archived from the original on 28 May 2020. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
  5. ^ "The Crown Estate". Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 25 July 2007.
  6. ^ greeninvestmentbank.com 31 March 2014: UK Green Investment Bank invests £461m in the UK offshore wind sector Archived 2 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ a b RWE Innogy, Stadtwerke München and Siemens build offshore wind farm Gwynt y Môr
  8. ^ "Go-ahead for wind farm puts Wales on track to meet clean energy targets". TheGuardian.com. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2016.
  9. ^ "Giant wind farm gets the go-ahead". BBC Wales. 3 December 2008. Archived from the original on 6 December 2008. Retrieved 3 December 2008.
  10. ^ Weston, David. "Lidar test completed at Gwynt y Mor Archived 26 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine" Windpower offshore, 20 February 2015. Accessed: 25 February 2015.
  11. ^ "Gwynt y Môr: Wind farm work to begin offshore near Llandudno". BBC. 23 January 2012. Archived from the original on 27 January 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  12. ^ a b "Gwynt y Mor windfarm: Sea cable laying work starts". BBC. 8 August 2012. Archived from the original on 12 August 2012. Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  13. ^ "RWE places Gwynt y Môr cable order". Modern Power Systems. 14 September 2010. Archived from the original on 8 August 2020. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  14. ^ "WalesOnline: Gwynt y Mor, Wales' largest offshore wind farm, generates power for first time". Archived from the original on 10 September 2013. Retrieved 17 September 2013.
  15. ^ "World's second largest offshore wind farm opens off coast of Wales". Wales Online. 18 June 2015. Archived from the original on 19 June 2015. Retrieved 18 June 2015.
  16. ^ Aldersey-Williams, John; Broadbent, Ian D.; Strachan, Peter A. (1 May 2019). "Better estimates of LCOE from audited accounts – A new methodology with examples from United Kingdom offshore wind and CCGT". Energy Policy. 128: 25–35. doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2018.12.044. hdl:10059/3298. S2CID 158158724.
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