Greater Gabbard Offshore Winds Limited (GGOWL), a partnership between Airtricity and Fluor, has signed a reservation agreement to secure wind turbines from Siemens for the construction of its Greater Gabbard offshore wind farm.
The agreement, the largest ever to have been reached for offshore wind turbines, involves 140 Siemens SWT3.6-07 turbines for delivery in 2009 and 2010.
Earlier this year, GGOWL announced that it had received planning permission for the construction of the offshore wind farm which will be located 25 kilometres off the coast of Suffolk in the Outer Thames Estuary.
The planned wind farm will produce electricity with a maximum capacity of 500MW. The wind turbines will be sited around the Inner Gabbard and The Galloper sandbanks. It will be the first UK offshore wind farm to be built outside territorial waters and will provide electricity for more than 415,000 homes - equivalent to the full domestic demand of electricity in Suffolk.
Construction of the project will commence mid 2009, and is expected to be completed by the end of 2010. Tenders for construction materials and equipment are currently being received.
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