Wind energy offshore

Wind turbines produce electricity by using the natural power of the wind to drive a generator.

Most commercial-scale wind turbines consist of rotor blades which rotate around a horizontal hub. The hub is connected to a gearbox and generator, which are located inside the nacelle. The nacelle houses the electrical components and is mounted at the top of the tower. The tower is installed on either gravity foundations or steel monopiles.

Most developments in UK waters use monopile foundations. These are long steel tubes which are hammered, drilled or vibrated into the seabed until secure. The platforms and towers are installed on top of the monopiles.

Following on from the first offshore wind farms in Denmark, the first applications to build offshore wind farms under the UK Government's now discontinued NFFO renewables support scheme were made in 1996. These were for two developments off the east cost of Britain, at Gunfleet Sands in Essex and at Blyth in Northumberland. Blyth Offshore became the UK's first offshore wind farm when it was commissioned in December 2000.

We are currently building the 500MW Greater Gabbard Wind Farm in the North Sea off the Suffolk Coast in partnerships with RWE npower renewables and we have a 25.1% stake in the 367MW Dong Energy Walney Wind Farm which is being built 14km west of the Isle of Walney in the Irish Sea.

We have also secured from The Crown Estate the rights to develop with partners almost 15GW of offshore wind including: at a site adjacent to Great Gabbard; at Dogger Bank, in the Firth of Forth; and at other sites in Scottish Territorial Waters.