Gwynt y Môr

Gwynt y Môr Offshore Wind Farm
Gwynt y Môr wind farm viewed from Great Orme
Location of Gwynt y Môr off the coast of Wales
Country	Wales, United Kingdom
Location	off the coast of North Wales, UK
Coordinates	53°27′N 03°35′W / 53.450°N 3.583°W / 53.450; -3.583Coordinates: 53°27′N 03°35′W / 53.450°N 3.583°W / 53.450; -3.583
Status	On-line
Construction began	January 2012
Commission date	18 June 2015
Construction cost	€2bn
Owner(s)	RWE Npower (50%) Stadtwerke München (30%) UK Green Investment Bank (10%) Siemens (10%)
Operator(s)	Gwynt y Môr Offshore Wind Farm Limited
Wind farm
Type	Offshore
Site area	80 km2 (30.9 sq mi)
Max. water depth	12–33 m (39–108 ft)
Distance from shore	18 km (11.2 mi)
Hub height	98 m (322 ft)
Rotor diameter	107 m (351 ft)
Power generation
Units operational	160 X 3.6 MW turbines
Make and model	Siemens Wind Power: SWT-3.6-107
Nameplate capacity	576 MW

Gwynt y Môr (English: Sea Wind) is a 576-megawatt (MW) offshore wind farm located off the coast of North Wales and is the second largest operating offshore windfarm in the world. The farm has 160 wind turbines of 150 metres (490 ft) tip height above mean sea level.

Planning consent for the project was granted on 3 December 2008. The project has a value of 2 billion Euros, of which 1.2 billion Euros were spent on turbines and electrical connections. Construction began in 2012, power production started in September 2013, construction phase ended in November 2014, and final commissioning occurred in June 2015.

As with all offshore wind farms in the UK the Crown Estate owns the seabed at Gwynt y Môr. It has agreed to lease the land to npower renewables. The wind farm is located close to the existing North Hoyle and Rhyl Flats offshore wind farms. These projects are wholly or partly owned by RWE npower renewables, a subsidiary of German company RWE. In the case of Gwynt y Môr, RWE holds 50%, Stadtwerke München holds 30%, Siemens holds 10% and UK Green Investment Bank holds 10%.

With 160 turbines of 3.6MW Siemens SWT-3.6-107, Gwynt y Môr will be Wales' largest wind farm. The output of 1,950 GWh per year is capable of powering around 400,000 homes, or 30% of the homes in Wales. This prevents the release of about 1.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide every year.

Planning consent for the project was granted on 3 December 2008. The project has a value of 2 billion Euros. 1.2 billion Euros will go to Siemens for turbines and electrical connections.

Two floating experimental LIDAR wind measurement stations have been tested at the site for two years.

Construction work began offshore in January 2011 when pieces of rock were laid on softer parts of the seabed to secure the foundations of the turbines. Work began on laying undersea cables from the windfarm to the shore in August 2012. In order to feed electricity into the national grid, a substation was built near St Asaph in Denbighshire.