On July 4, DONG Energy, E.ON and Masdar officially opened the world’s largest offshore wind farm, London Array, at a ceremony attended by Prime Minister David Cameron, alongside other dignitaries. Over 350 people attended the inauguration at Turner Contemporary in Margate, Kent.
London Array first started generating power in October 2012. The 175 th turbine was brought online in March 2013.
Construction began in July 2009 when work started to build a new onshore substation on the north Kent coast to flow the energy generated by London Array straight into the national grid. The first offshore foundation was installed in March 2011; the 175 th and final Siemens 3.6MW turbine was installed on time in December 2012.
London Array is located around 20km off the coasts of Kent and Essex on a 100km 2 site. Its 175 turbines have a combined capacity of 630MW and are expected to produce enough electricity to power over half a million UK homes each year.
The following video shows the greatest moments from the inauguration ceremony:
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Offshore WIND Staff, July 18, 2013; Image: londonarray