Thanet Offshore Wind Farm is the first wind farm developed by Vattenfall following the Crown Estates’ round 2 licensing. The operational offshore wind farm has provided wind energy in the UK to a quarter of a million households since 2010. There is a planned expansion to add 550 MW of energy by 2028.
The wind farm enabled the wind industry to move forward by achieving milestones. Some of its firsts are its use of two transformers, quick turbine installation, and the first to be developed from the Round 2 licensing of Crown Estates.
Thanet was the world’s largest offshore wind farm upon completion in 2010. Following the project, Greater Gabbard Wind Farm (504 MW) eventually snatched the world’s largest offshore wind farm title. Other large wind farms were built a few years apart–Bard 1 (400 MW) and Sheringham Shoal (305 MW).
The estimated cost of the project ranges from $1.2 to 1.4 Billion. Construction began in 2008, and Thanet wind farm installed the 100th and last turbine in 2010. It is one of many wind farms in Kent.
Where is Thanet Wind farm?
Thanet wind farm operates 11 kilometers off the coast of Kent County, England, in the North Sea. The district nearest to it is Thanet district. After connecting to an offshore substation, the export cables connect to an existing onshore substation in Richborough, Kent.
Ramsgate Harbour hosts a maintenance building and Vattenfall’s base. The base maintains not just Thanet offshore wind farm but also the Kentish Flats and Kentish Flats Extension Wind Farms. The base employs about 70 people.
How large is the Thanet offshore wind farm project?
The project covers a 35 square kilometer area off the coast of Kent County, England.
Who owns Thanet Wind Farm?
Vattenfall owns all of Thanet Wind Farm except the transmission infrastructure. The Crown Estate awarded Thanet in a round 2 offshore licensing in 2004 to Thanet Offshore Wind Ltd., led by Warwick Energy.
After Christofferson, Robb & Co. bought the project from Warwick, they sold it to Vattenfall in 2008.
The cables, substations, and transmission infrastructure assets were then sold for £164M by Vattenfall in 2014 to Thanet OFTO, which Balfour Beatty and Equitix own. Thanet OFTO will operate the transmission assets until 2034.
Thanet is one of Vattenfall’s three offshore wind farms outside of Kent. The others are Kentish Flats and the Kentish Flats Extension.
Is it a fixed or floating foundation?
The project utilized monopile foundations from the project’s preferred supplier for the foundations, SLP.
When is the first power of Thanet Wind Farm?
Thanet delivered its first power in 2010.
How much total energy will the project produce?
Thanet Wind Farm has an installed total capacity of 300 MW. The project consists of 100 Vestas V90 wind turbines. This is a one-phase project; all turbines were installed in rapid succession, about one every 18 hours.
How many turbines?
The project installed 100 turbines for the 35 square kilometer area. Vattenfall, the project owners, met their timeline goals of installing the turbines in less than 100 days.
At specific points, the ‘MPI Resolution’ installation vessel was completing a trip after installing a turbine every 18 hours. Before returning to the port, it would install 9 turbines spaced 500 meters between each turbine and 800 meters between each row.
How many turbines per phase?
Thanet offshore wind farm was installed in one phase, including all 100 turbines now in operation.
Who makes the turbines?
Vestas manufactured the turbines for the project. They were announced as the preferred suppliers for the project in July 2006.
What is the turbine model?
Thanet Wind Farm has Vestas V90 wind turbines. Despite initially withdrawing the turbines in 2007 from the market due to gearbox issues, the project came through, and Vestas delivered on the project. The V90 3 MW turbines were back in the market in May 2008. The turbines stand up to 115 meters high on a monopile foundation.
What is the turbines capacity factor?
Each Vesta V90 has 3 MW of production capacity.
Thanet Expansion Plans
The UK government’s Business secretary disapproved of the Thanet extension plans submitted in 2018 by Vattenfall in June 2020. Citing concerns that the project extension would affect the safety of vessels and marine navigation, the UK government said that evidence was insufficient that the extension would be ‘policy compliant.
The proposed extension would be 8 kilometers off the coast and install 34 turbines of approximately 10 MW each. However, Vattenfall had not yet secured a lease from the Crown Estate at application.