Thanet Offshore Wind Project
Encyclopedia
The Thanet Wind Farm is an offshore wind farm 7 miles (11.3 km) off the coast of Thanet
district in Kent
, England
. As of September 2010, it is the world's biggest offshore windfarm. It has a nameplate capacity (maximum output) of 300 MW and it cost £780-900 million (US$1.2-1.4 billion). Thanet is one of 15 Round 2 wind projects announced by the Crown Estate
in January 2004. It was officially opened on 23 September 2010, when it overtook Horns Rev 2
as the biggest off-shore wind-farm in the world.
Two submarine power cable
s (by Italy-based Prysmian
Group) run from an offshore substation
within the wind farm connecting to an existing onshore substation in Richborough
, Kent, connecting to a world-first two transformers. The offshore substation steps up the turbine voltage of 33 kV to 132 kV for the grid. Maintenance of the turbines is carried out by Vestas, while a separate maintenance agreement with SLP Energy covers the turbines foundations. Turbines are installed by the Danish
offshore wind farm services provider A2SEA
. The TIV Resolution
carried and installed the turbines.
d. Thanet Offshore Wind Ltd (TOW), the project company
was owned by hedge fund
Christofferson, Robb & Co. It was purchased from a group of sponsors led by Warwick Energy Ltd.
In August 2008 Christofferson, Robb & Co placed the project back on the market. On 10 November 2008, Vattenfall
, a Swedish energy company, acquired TOW.
were chosen as the preferred turbine supplier in July 2006, and SLP were chosen as preferred supplier for the foundations in September 2006. The project was delayed by a number of issues including problems with Vestas who temporarily withdrew their V90 offshore model from the market in 2007 following gearbox problems. The V90-3
was re-released for sales starting from May 2008.
Vattenfall
acquired the project in November 2008. On 28 June 2010, they reported that all turbines had been installed for commissioning due by the end of 2010. The wind farm
was completed in September 2010.
It was expected that the project would create "hundreds of new jobs", with 90 people employed directly and 200 employed indirectly as a result of extra trade. However, only 21 permanent positions have been created.
An article by climate change sceptic Christopher Booker
estimates that due to the wind being intermittent, Thanet Wind Farm will only produce 75MW on average. The owners will receive a subsidy of £60M per year on top of the £30-40M cost of the electricity due to Renewables Obligation Certificates, and based on the estimated working life of the turbines of 20 years, the total subsidy will come to £1.2 billion. Since there are only 21 permanent green job
s, the subsidy per job comes to around £3M per year. However, Booker's capacity estimate is lower than Vattenfall's estimate of 35-40% capacity (105-120 MW) and the working life figure is also lower than other estimates of 40 years.
Thanet
Thanet is a local government district of Kent, England which was formed under the Local Government Act 1972, and came into being on 1 April 1974...
district in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. As of September 2010, it is the world's biggest offshore windfarm. It has a nameplate capacity (maximum output) of 300 MW and it cost £780-900 million (US$1.2-1.4 billion). Thanet is one of 15 Round 2 wind projects announced by the Crown Estate
Crown Estate
In the United Kingdom, the Crown Estate is a property portfolio owned by the Crown. Although still belonging to the monarch and inherent with the accession of the throne, it is no longer the private property of the reigning monarch and cannot be sold by him/her, nor do the revenues from it belong...
in January 2004. It was officially opened on 23 September 2010, when it overtook Horns Rev 2
Horns Rev 2
Horns Rev 2 is an offshore wind farm located on Horns Rev in a shallow area in the eastern North Sea, about off the westernmost point of Denmark, Blåvands Huk...
as the biggest off-shore wind-farm in the world.
Description
The project covers an area of 13.5 square miles (35 km²), with 500 metres (1,640.4 ft) between turbines and 800 metres (2,624.7 ft) between the rows. Average water depth is 20–25 m (65.6–82 ). Planning permission for the project was granted on 18 December 2006. According to Thanet Offshore Wind Ltd, it was expected to be "the largest operational offshore wind farm in the World". The Thanet project has a total capacity of 300 MW which, by yearly average, is sufficient to supply approximately 240,000 homes.Two submarine power cable
Submarine power cable
Submarine power cables are major transmission cables for carrying electric power below the surface of the water. These are called "submarine" because they usually carry electric power beneath salt water but it is also possible to use submarine power cables beneath fresh water...
s (by Italy-based Prysmian
Prysmian
Prysmian is an Italian-based multinational corporation headquartered in Milan and listed on the Milan Stock Exchange, manufacturing and laying cables for the energy and telecommunications sectors, it's the market leader, also thanks to the acquisition of Draka Holding...
Group) run from an offshore substation
Substation
Substation can refer to:*Electrical substation*Police substation, a mini police station with limited services*The Substation, a Singaporean contemporary arts centre*SubStation Alpha, a subtitle file format...
within the wind farm connecting to an existing onshore substation in Richborough
Richborough Power Station
Richborough Power Station is a former power station close to the mouth of the River Stour near Sandwich, on the east coast of Kent. It was built on land within the Port of Richborough but being on the northern edge is mostly within the neighbouring parish of Minster, Kent.The power station can be...
, Kent, connecting to a world-first two transformers. The offshore substation steps up the turbine voltage of 33 kV to 132 kV for the grid. Maintenance of the turbines is carried out by Vestas, while a separate maintenance agreement with SLP Energy covers the turbines foundations. Turbines are installed by the Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
offshore wind farm services provider A2SEA
A2SEA
A2SEA is an offshore wind farm installation and services company based in Fredericia, Denmark. The company is specialized on transport, installation, and servicing of offshore wind farms. In addition to Denmark, the company has subsidiaries in the United Kingdom and Germany.-History:A2SEA was...
. The TIV Resolution
TIV Resolution
TIV MPI Resolution is a Turbine Installation Vessel deployed to install turbines at offshore wind farms. She was the first self-elevating Turbine Installation Vessel in the world....
carried and installed the turbines.
Financial structure
The Thanet scheme is project financeProject finance
Project finance is the long term financing of infrastructure and industrial projects based upon the projected cash flows of the project rather than the balance sheets of the project sponsors...
d. Thanet Offshore Wind Ltd (TOW), the project company
Special purpose entity
A special purpose entity is a legal entity created to fulfill narrow, specific or temporary objectives...
was owned by hedge fund
Hedge fund
A hedge fund is a private pool of capital actively managed by an investment adviser. Hedge funds are only open for investment to a limited number of accredited or qualified investors who meet criteria set by regulators. These investors can be institutions, such as pension funds, university...
Christofferson, Robb & Co. It was purchased from a group of sponsors led by Warwick Energy Ltd.
In August 2008 Christofferson, Robb & Co placed the project back on the market. On 10 November 2008, Vattenfall
Vattenfall
Vattenfall is a Swedish power company. The name Vattenfall is Swedish for waterfall, and is an abbreviation of its original name, Royal Waterfall Board...
, a Swedish energy company, acquired TOW.
Current status
The development was due to be in place by 2008. VestasVestas
Vestas Wind Systems A/S is a Danish manufacturer, seller, installer, and servicer of wind turbines. It is the largest in the world, but due to very rapid growth of its competitors, its market share decreased from 28% in 2007 to 12.5% in 2009...
were chosen as the preferred turbine supplier in July 2006, and SLP were chosen as preferred supplier for the foundations in September 2006. The project was delayed by a number of issues including problems with Vestas who temporarily withdrew their V90 offshore model from the market in 2007 following gearbox problems. The V90-3
Vestas V90-3MW
The Vestas V90-3MW is a three bladed upwind wind turbine generator that uses pitch control and a doubly fed induction generator...
was re-released for sales starting from May 2008.
Vattenfall
Vattenfall
Vattenfall is a Swedish power company. The name Vattenfall is Swedish for waterfall, and is an abbreviation of its original name, Royal Waterfall Board...
acquired the project in November 2008. On 28 June 2010, they reported that all turbines had been installed for commissioning due by the end of 2010. The wind farm
Wind farm
A wind farm is a group of wind turbines in the same location used to produce electric power. A large wind farm may consist of several hundred individual wind turbines, and cover an extended area of hundreds of square miles, but the land between the turbines may be used for agricultural or other...
was completed in September 2010.
Criticism
Since turbine construction makes up the majority of the project cost and the UK has no capacity, much of the work was contracted to foreign companies, resulting in only 20% of the investment going to British firms. There have been calls for the creation of a domestic wind industry.It was expected that the project would create "hundreds of new jobs", with 90 people employed directly and 200 employed indirectly as a result of extra trade. However, only 21 permanent positions have been created.
An article by climate change sceptic Christopher Booker
Christopher Booker
Christopher John Penrice Booker is an English journalist and author. In 1961, he was one of the founders of the magazine Private Eye, and has contributed to it for over four decades. He has been a columnist for the Sunday Telegraph since 1990...
estimates that due to the wind being intermittent, Thanet Wind Farm will only produce 75MW on average. The owners will receive a subsidy of £60M per year on top of the £30-40M cost of the electricity due to Renewables Obligation Certificates, and based on the estimated working life of the turbines of 20 years, the total subsidy will come to £1.2 billion. Since there are only 21 permanent green job
Green job
A green job, also called a green-collar job is, according to the United Nations Environment Program, "work in agricultural, manufacturing, research and development , administrative, and service activities that contribute substantially to preserving or restoring environmental quality...
s, the subsidy per job comes to around £3M per year. However, Booker's capacity estimate is lower than Vattenfall's estimate of 35-40% capacity (105-120 MW) and the working life figure is also lower than other estimates of 40 years.
Extension
In June 2010, The Crown Estate announced that Thanet wind farm could be extended to produce an additional 147MW. However in October 2010, Vattenfall stated that it would not proceed.See also
- London ArrayLondon ArrayThe London Array is an offshore wind farm under construction in the outer Thames Estuary in the United Kingdom. With 1,000 megawatt capacity, it is expected to become the world's largest offshore wind farm. The site is off the North Foreland on the Kent coast in the area of Long Sand and...
- Wind power in the United KingdomWind power in the United KingdomBy mid-2011, the installed capacity of wind power in the United Kingdom was over 5.7 gigawatts and the UK is ranked as the world’s eighth largest producer of wind power. Wind power is expected to continue growing in the UK for the foreseeable future, RenewableUK estimates that more than...
- List of offshore wind farms
- List of offshore wind farms in the United Kingdom
- List of offshore wind farms in the North Sea