World’s biggest wind turbines now generating power off UK coast

Thirty-two of the world’s largest wind turbines are up and generating power off the UK coast, as part of a new offshore wind project that is said to be capable of meeting the electricity demand of more than 230,000 homes.

The Burbo Bank Extension project, a joint venture between Danish renewables giant DONG Energy and partners PKA (25%) and the parent company of the LEGO Group KIRKBI (25%), was officially launched on Wednesday in Liverpool – an addition to the existing Burbo Bank wind farm, with 25 3.6MW wind turbines connected to shore by three submarine cables.

Spread across 40 square kilometres of Liverpool Bay, it is the first offshore wind farm in the world to make commercial use of the Vestas 8MW wind turbines, which stand at 195 metres each and have blades longer than nine buses.

According to DONG, just one of the project’s wind turbines produces more energy than the whole of Vindeby, which is the world’s first offshore wind farm constructed by DONG Energy 25 years ago in Denmark (pictured below).

“Burbo Bank Extension showcases the rapid innovation in the offshore wind industry,” said DONG CEO Henrik Poulsen in comments on Wednesday.

“Less than 10 years ago at Burbo Bank, we were the first to install Siemens 3.6MW wind turbines and in this short time, the wind turbines have more than doubled in capacity.

“Pushing innovation in this way reduces the cost of electricity from offshore wind and will help to advance the offshore wind industry across the world,” he said.

Poulsen also noted that the project had helped to develop the UK supply chain, being the first offshore wind farm to use UK manufactured blades.

DONG Energy says it is also building a new multi-million pound operations facility in Merseyside that will serve both Burbo Bank Extension and the existing wind farm, creating up to 75 jobs during construction, and employing around 45 people permanently at the site once it is operational later this year.