Full power output has been achieved at Ørsted’s Race Bank Offshore Wind Farm, located off the North Norfolk coast.
Installation of the wind turbines at Race Bank first began in May 2017 and following successful completion of the 240-hour acceptance tests of all 91 turbines, and the 200-hour test of the full park, the project is now capable of generating its full capacity of 573 megawatts (MW). During the commissioning process of the final turbines, Race Bank also passed 1 terawatt hour (TW-h) of production since construction began.
One wind turbine generator was installed in just over 11 hours – a record for the company. The whole commissioning process has exceeded expectations.
David Summers, Project Director for Race Bank at Ørsted UK, said:
“Full power and 1 terawatt hour of production are two fantastic milestones and have been achieved by the hard work and dedication of a significant number of people. Full power means that Race Bank can now produce enough green energy to power over half a million UK homes.
“Not only have we achieved full power on schedule, but we have also done so safely, without compromising our high standards. I now look forward to completing final activities on Race Bank and being able to officially open the project in the summer.”
Race Bank uses Siemens Gamesa 6MW wind turbines and many of these turbines feature the first blades to be manufactured at the Siemens Gamesa blade factory in Hull.
Race Bank will be Ørsted’s first offshore wind farm to use a new Service Operation Vessel (SOV) for operations and maintenance (O&M). The SOV can remain out at sea with the O&M team for up to 28 days at a time, and will greatly improve the efficiency of maintaining the project.
A team based in Grimsby will be responsible for carrying out this O&M work for the lifetime of Race Bank.
Facts about Race Bank Offshore Wind Farm:
- Owned by Ørsted (50%), Macquarie European Infrastructure Fund 5 (25%), Macquarie Capital (12.5%) and Sumitomo Corporation (12.5%)
- Located approximately 16.8 miles off Blakeney Point on the North Norfolk coast and 17.4 miles off the Lincolnshire coast at Chapel St Leonards
- Covers a total area of 75km2
- Consists of 91 Siemens Gamesa 6MW turbines
- Total capacity of 573MW, producing enough electricity to power over half a million UK homes annually
About Ørsted
The Ørsted vision is a world that runs entirely on green energy. Ørsted develops, constructs and operates offshore wind farms, bioenergy plants and innovative waste-to-energy solutions and provides smart energy products to its customers. Headquartered in Denmark, Ørsted employs 5,600 people, including over 900 in the UK. Ørsted’s shares are listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen (Orsted). In 2017, the group’s revenue was DKK 59.5 billion (EUR 8.0 billion). For more information on Ørsted, visit orsted.co.uk or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.
