24.09.14
Dudgeon offshore wind farm to power up to 410,000 homes
The planned Dudgeon offshore wind farm off the coast of Norfolk is expected to support 450 jobs and create enough electricity to power up to 410,000 homes.
It has just been announced that Abu Dhabi-owned green energy giant Masdar will invest £525m for a 35% stake in the planned wind farm, joining Norwegian partners Statoil and Stakraft, who have a 35% and 30% stake respectively.
Energy and climate change secretary Ed Davey MP said: “Masdar’s investment is a strong endorsement of the UK as the best place in the world to invest in offshore wind – and it shows the government’s plan for green growth is working.
“Since 2010 we have seen, on average, £7bn a year invested in renewables and we expect to see up to £50bn more between now and 2020.”
The wind farm is also hoped to create opportunities for UK manufacturers. Earlier this year it was announced that Siemens had been awarded the contract for the electrical system infrastructure. Siemens also announced earlier this year that they were investing £310m to build two offshore wind manufacturing plants in Hull. The developers hope that some of the turbines at Dudgeon will come from these factories.
The project reached an important milestone in early July when the developers announced that they had made a final investment decision to go ahead, investing £1.5bn into UK offshore wind.
Statoil will oversee the construction and operation of the wind farm.
Dudgeon wind farm will be located 20 miles off the coast of the seaside town of Cromer in North Norfolk. It has a maximum capacity of 402MW and it is expected to start generating electricity in 2017.
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