03 February 2010 12:16
London Array signs final major installation contracts for phase one
The consortium developing the London Array, the world's largest offshore wind farm, have today announced that contracts have been awarded to MPI and A2SEA to supply marine crew and vessels for the installation of foundations and turbines for the first phase (630MW) of what potentially will be the world's first 1GW offshore wind farm.
MPI, through a fully wholly owned subsidiary, will supply London Array with the MPI Adventure, a vessel currently being built in China. The state-of-the-art ship will be capable of transporting, lifting and installing more wind turbines and their foundations than current boats. The vessel is expected to start operations in April 2011.
In addition, A2SEA will supply the Sea Worker, a jack-up barge that is expected to be on site from March 2011.
Richard Rigg, Project Director for London Array, said: "These are the final major construction contracts to be signed for London Array, which has now moved as a project from the development phase into full construction.
"These vessels are critical to the successful installation of the wind turbines and their foundations and we are delighted to be working with such experienced contractors."
Once complete, the scheme will be the world's largest, and the first 1GW, offshore wind farm. Sited in the Thames Estuary, the project will supply enough power for around 750,000 homes - or a quarter of Greater London homes - and displace the emission of 1.9m tonnes of CO2 every year.
London Array will be built around 20km off the coasts of Kent and Essex. The wind farm will be installed on a 245km2 site and will be built in two phases. Phase One, planned to be complete in 2012, will cover 90km2 and include 175 turbines with a combined capacity of 630MW. If approved, the second phase will add enough capacity to bring the total to 1,000MW.
The project consortium partners have the following shareholdings: DONG Energy owns 50%, E.ON has 30% and Masdar has a 20% stake.
Ends
Notes to editors:
London Array animation:
A broadcast quality animation of the London Array scheme is available for download by registering at the Video Gallery section of http://eon-uk.com/ Media pages.
DONG Energy is one of the leading energy groups in Northern Europe. DONG Energy is headquartered in Denmark. The company's business is based on procuring, producing, distributing and trading in energy and related products in Northern Europe. DONG Energy has approximately 5,500 employees and generated more than DKK 60 billion (approx. €8.2 billion) in revenue in 2008.
DONG Energy is a market leader in offshore wind power, having built around half of all offshore wind farms globally. The UK is one of DONG Energy's primary markets for offshore wind. DONG Energy is the sole owner of the 90MW Burbo Bank and 50% owner of the 90MW Barrow project, both of which are in commercial operation in the East Irish Sea. The Gunfleet Sands I+II (total 172MW) commenced construction in early 2008 in the Thames Estuary and are scheduled for commercial operation by the end of 2009. On April 22nd 2009 DONG Energy announced it was to build the two wind farms Walney I and II in the Irish Sea. Further, DONG Energy has a substantial pipeline of offshore wind projects in the UK which are currently under planning and development. For more information, please visit www.dongenergy.com
E.ON is one of the world's leading power and gas companies. With annual sales of more than €86 billion and around 90,000 employees, it is one of the world's largest investor-owned power and gas companies. E.ON Climate & Renewables, headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany, is responsible for E.ON Group's global renewables and climate protection activities. E.ON is investing 8 billion Euros in renewable generation and climate protection projects from 2007 to 2011 and will play a leading role in the development of the renewables industry worldwide. We are already active in On and Offshore wind, Concentrating Solar Power (CSP), Solar PV, Biomass and Biogas. E.ON currently has over 2.9GW of renewable capacity in operation which makes the company a leading global renewable player. E.ON has an offshore pipeline of over 4000 MW.
In the UK, E.ON's renewables development portfolio could, if built, power a million homes and displace the emission of around two million tonnes of CO2. E.ON owns and operates Scroby Sands offshore wind farm in the UK and is currently commissioning the 180MW Robin Rigg offshore wind farm in the Solway Firth. Renewable energy projects in other countries include developing Rødsand II, a 207MW offshore wind farm of the Danish coast and, with partners, the 60MW Alpha Ventus offshore wind farm which is currently being built off the north coast of Germany. This is the first deep water far shore scheme of its kind. www.eon.com
The Masdar Initiative is Abu Dhabi's multi-faceted investment in the development and commercialization of innovative technologies in renewable, alternative and sustainable energies as well as sustainable design. Masdar is a wholly owned company of the the Mubadala Development Company (Mubadala). In January 2008, Abu Dhabi announced it will invest $15 billion in Masdar, the largest single government investment of its kind. Last year, Masdar entered into the London Array scheme when it purchased 40 per cent of E.ON's half share of the London Array scheme, giving Masdar a 20% stake in the project overall. Masdar, which works with a range of innovative renewable energy companies and utilities, is continuously searching for investment opportunities. The London Array investment is part of Masdar's global alternative energy strategy which includes solar, wind and other renewable technologies.
For more information about the Masdar Initiative, please visit www.masdaruae.com
MPI Offshore, based in Stokesly, UK, has been pioneering the offshore wind farm installation business since 2003, when the first dedicated wind turbine installation vessel was delivered: MPI Resolution. Over the past 7 seven years MPI has been involved in numerous wind farm construction projects a.o. on Barrow and Robin Rigg. During 2008 the company decided to invest USD 550 million into two state-of-the art wind turbine installation vessels which are currently under construction at the Cosco Nantong Shipyard in China. For more information on MPI and its wide ranging capabilities please visit: www.mpi-offshore-com. MPI is a subsidiary of Vroon Group, a Dutch based diversified shipowning group with a.o. an extensive North Sea offshore fleet. For more information please visit: www.vroon.nl.
For more information contact:
Joanne Prentice
joanne.prentice@eon-uk.com
T. + 44 (0) 24 7618 3571