Danish energy company Ørsted’s offshore wind farm Walney Extension has officially opened on the Cumbrian coast in Barrow, north-west England.
The 659MW Walney Extension is the world’s largest offshore wind farm owned by Ørsted (50%) and its partners, the Danish pension funds PKA (25%) and PFA (25%).
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Featuring 87 wind turbines from two different manufacturers and covering an area of 145km2 in the Irish Sea, Walney Extension will be able to generate clean energy sufficient enough to power nearly 600,000 homes in the UK.
Ørsted UK managing director Matthew Wright said: “The UK is the global leader in offshore wind and Walney Extension showcases the industry’s incredible success story.
“The project, completed on time and within budget, also marks another important step towards Ørsted’s vision of a world that runs entirely on green energy.
“The North-West region plays an important role in our UK offshore wind operations and our aim is to make a lasting and positive impact here. We want to ensure that the local community becomes an integral part of the renewable energy revolution that’s happening along its coastline.”
Walney Extension is Ørsted’s 11th operational offshore wind farm in the UK that is equipped with 47 MHI Vestas 8MW wind turbines and a further 40 Siemens Gamesa 7MW wind turbines.
With the opening of Walney Extension, Ørsted’s total capacity operating out of Barrow has reached up to 1.5GW.
The wind farm will have a life span of approximately 25 years and is built and operated as per the UK’s Electricity Market Reform (EMR) FID-enabling regime.
