It’s got the power!

The wind farm is a joint venture between DONG Energy and its partners PKA and KIRKBI A/S, parent company of the LEGO Group. It is the first offshore wind farm in the world to make commercial use of the MHI Vestas V164 8.0MW wind turbines.

Just one of these wind turbines produces more energy than the whole of Vindeby, the world's first offshore windfarm constructed by DONG Energy 25 years ago in Denmark.

The turbine blades are 80m long - the equivalent of nine double
decker London buses - and each weighs 35 tonnes. They were designed and manufactured on the Isle of Wight by MHI Vestas Offshore Wind at its world-leading blade factory. The 450 tonne transition pieces (which link each turbine tower to its foundations) were built by Offshore Structures Britain in Teesside. The assembly of the turbines took place in Belfast.

Henrik Poulsen, DONG Energy Chief Executive, said: "Burbo Bank Extension showcases the rapid innovation in the offshore wind industry. Less than ten 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.

"The project has also helped to develop the UK supply chain. It is the first offshore windfarm to use UK manufactured blades and the order for transition pieces was the first for Teesside factory Offshore Structures
Britain."

RenewableUK’s Executive Director Emma Pinchbeck said: “This game-changing project is a testament to the offshore wind industry’s strong commitment to relentless innovation - including the state-of-the-art turbine blades which were designed, tested and made on the Isle of Wight, and the huge transition pieces built in Teesside.

“It’s great to see a variety of places in the UK benefitting from offshore wind, as the turbines were assembled in Belfast Harbour.

“Today’s turbines are the most efficient ever - driving down the cost of electricity for
consumers”.

DONG Energy is building a new multi-million pound operations facility in Merseyside that will serve both Burbo Bank Extension, and the existing wind farm in the area, Burbo Bank. Up to 75 jobs will be created during the construction of the facility, while around 45 people will be permanently employed at the site once it is operational, later this year.

 DONG Energy is currently operating 17 offshore wind farms across the UK, Germany and Denmark and was recently the world's first developer to reach the installation of 1,000 offshore wind turbines.

Video courtesy of DONG Energy Corporate