Where Is The Walney Offshore Wind Farm?
In early 2012, The Walney Offshore Wind Farm was completed approximately 15km off Walney Island, Cumbria in the Irish Sea. The 102 turbines have a total generating capacity of 367.2MW, which should provide 320,000 houses with 100% clean electricity, when transported onshore from these offshore Wind Farms.
Walney Wind Farm Operating Capabilities
The instillation of the Walney Wind Farm was done in two phases. The first phase or Walney 1 was started in Spring 2010 consisting of 51 Siemens 3.6MW turbines, which took a year to install. Phase 2 or Walney 2 also consisted of 51 turbines, but the instillation time was halved; only taking 6 months to complete. Walney 1 & 2 combined area coverage is situated over 73km2
Both Walney 1 and Walney 2 have independent substations located out at sea which increase the voltage of the turbines from 33kV to 132kV so that it can be fed into the grid, via 43km export cables.
The turbines will spin and therefore create electricity when wind speed is in excess of 4m/s, however maximum electrical output will be when the wind speed is in excess of 13m/s. If the wind goes above 25m/s, the turbines will cease operation for safety reasons.
The installation of the wind farm has so far created 60 jobs, helping to boost the local job market and develop the expertise in the engineering sector.
Walney Wind Farm Funding Model
The Walney Wind Farm was funded as a joint venture by Dong Energy (50.1%), SSE (25.1%) and a consortium of PGGM and Triodos Investment Management (24.8%)
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