Scroby Sands Wind Farm | |
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Scroby Sands Wind Turbines
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Country | United Kingdom, England |
Location | Norfolk, Great Yarmouth |
Coordinates | 52°38′56″N 1°47′25″E / 52.64889°N 1.79028°ECoordinates: 52°38′56″N 1°47′25″E / 52.64889°N 1.79028°E |
Status | Operational |
Construction began | 2003 |
Commission date | 2004 |
Construction cost | €87 million |
Owner(s) | E.ON UK |
Wind farm | |
Type | Offshore |
Max. water depth | 5–10 m (16–33 ft) |
Distance from shore | 2.5 km (1.6 mi) |
Hub height | 68 m (223 ft) |
Rotor diameter | 80 m (260 ft) |
Rated wind speed | 16 m/s (58 km/h) |
Power generation | |
Units operational | 30 x 2 MW |
Make and model | Vestas V80-2MW |
Nameplate capacity | 60 MW |
Capacity factor | 32.42% (2012) |
The Scroby Sands Wind Farm is a wind farm located on the Scroby Sands sandbank in the North Sea, 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) off the coast of Great Yarmouth in eastern England, United Kingdom. It was commissioned in March 2004 by Powergen Renewables Offshore, a division of E.ON UK. It has a nameplate capacity of 60 megawatts and is able to produce power to supply 41,000 households. Between 2005 and 2010, its capacity factor was between 26 and 32%.
The farm consists of 30 wind turbines, located in water from 13 to 20 metres (43 to 66 ft) deep. Each turbine has three 40-metre (130 ft) blades that rotate around a centre-point some 60 metres (200 ft) above the mean sea level. The hollow 4.5-metre (14.8 ft) diameter steel masts that carry the turbines are piled as much as 30 metres (98 ft) into the sea bed, to provide stability on a substrate of shifting sands.
The wind turbines were designed and manufactured by a Danish firm, Vestas. Each turbine has a capacity of 2 megawatts. Turbines were installed by the Danish offshore wind farms services provider A2SEA.
The wind farm has an information centre serving around 35,000 visitors per year, and has become a local attraction.
Wind farm at Great Yarmouth
Wind farm at Great Yarmouth
View of the wind farm from Hemsby
A Jackup rig servicing one of the wind turbines