East Anglia Three

East Anglia Three Offshore Wind Project is the largest offshore wind farm under development in the East Anglia Zone.

It is the second offshore wind farm in the East Anglia Hub Development. It is a group of offshore wind farms with a capacity to deliver 3.1 GW of electricity when the developer fully commissions it in 2026.

East Anglia Three received project content in 2017 to add to the East Anglia Zone. This 305 square kilometer wind farm will have 120 wind turbines rated just over 10 megawatts each on average. The East Anglia Three offshore wind farm will have a 1,400-megawatt capacity factor with enough renewable electricity to power one million UK households

Table of contents

Ownership of the Project

ScottishPower Renewables owns 100% of the equity in the project. ScottishPower Renewables is the UK arm of the Spanish energy giant Iberdrola Group.

The company has 2.5 GW of installed capacity in 40 wind farms, making it a leading renewable energy company globally.

ScottishPower Renewables has vast experience in complex projects throughout its portfolio, including several offshore wind farms in the Southern area of the North Sea in the UK territory.

The company is constantly expanding its offshore wind portfolio, as it is now developing the East Anglia Hub in the North Sea. East Anglia One, a 714-MW offshore wind farm east of the UK, is significant in the company’s portfolio.

Location of East Anglia Three

East Anglia Three is near the east coast of Norfolk, UK, which is 69 kilometers from the nearest shoreline.

The East Anglia Array is an offshore wind farm with four phases. The first phase is East Anglia One. This is 43 kilometers from shore and is made of 102 wind turbines that can produce up to 714 megawatts of power combined. This is enough to power about 630,000 homes. The second phase is East Anglia One North, which is 36 kilometers from shore. This phase will generate up to 800 megawatts, enough to power about 710,000 homes. East Anglia Two is 31 kilometers from shore and will also generage about 800 megawatts to power 710,000 homes. Lastly, East Anglia Three will be 69 kilometers from shore and will generate up to 1,400 megawatts, and can power up to 1.2 million homes!

The wind farm is 305 square kilometers large across its installation area.

Wind Power Capacity

East Anglia Three has an installed capacity of 1.4 GW–enough power to provide electricity to 1.1 million homes.

Specifications of the Wind Turbines

Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy will build and install about 120 turbines of the wind farm. Each turbine will be 247 meters high above sea level measured at the blade tip, which is more than double the height of Big Ben.

The turbines in East Anglia Three are about 247 meters high, compared to Big Ben that is 96 meters high

The wind turbines will also use a monopile foundation to install the turbines on the seabed.

Associated Infrastructure of East Anglia Three

The wind farm’s infrastructure includes four offshore substations, an offshore platform, and four submarine cables.

ScottishPower Renewables will use HVDC (High Voltage, Direct Current) technology for cabling in the project.

Cost of the Project

ScottishPower Renewables is investing £6.5 in the East Anglia Hub. There is no available information on the exact cost of the East Anglia Three Project.

Map of the East Anglia Hub, showing the Great Yarmouth construction and marshalling base, the Lowestoft operations and maintenance base, and the four phases of the East Anglia Wind Farm

Schedule of the Project

In 2017, the Planning Inspectorate issued the development consent order for East Anglia Three.

Next, In 2021 ScottishPower Renewables secured some key suppliers, such as Aker Solutions for the HVDC converter stations and Siemens Energy for the turbines.

Finally, In 2022, Subsea 7 received the contract to transport and install monopile foundations, prepare the seabed, and apply scour protection. NKT won the contract for the onshore cable route.

In August 2022, the work at the onshore converter station at Bramford, Suffolk County, began.

Commercial operation of the plant will start in 2026.

East Anglia Hub

The East Anglia Hub Projects consist of East Anglia Three, East Anglia Two, and East Anglia One Offshore Wind Farm.

The offshore wind hub follows the development of East Anglia One, which has been operational since 2020.

The three offshore wind farms of the East Anglia Hub compose 6% of the UK’s ambitions to reach 50 GW of offshore wind capacity in 2030. Should the schedule push through, in 2026, the hub’s offshore wind capacity would be 3.1 GW.

The East Anglia Hub Project will cost £6.5 billion and create 3,000 jobs