SMart Wind secures initial connection for Hornsea project

The SMart Wind consortium, led by Mainstream Renewable Power and Siemens Project Ventures, has secured grid connection for the first gigawatt (GW) of its 4GW Hornsea offshore wind development off the Yorkshire coast.

The offshore wind farm will connect to Killingholme substation, an existing 400kV substation located in the Humber region that is owned by National Grid.

Construction of the first turbines - which will generate 1GW of power - will begin in 2014, with the remaining 3GW planned for construction between 2015 and 2020.

Hornsea is one of the three largest zones awarded for development under The Crown Estate’s Round 3 programme in December 2009. SMart Wind, an equal joint venture between Siemens Project Ventures and Mainstream, has assembled a consortium to ensure that all major deliverables such as HVDC, cables, wind turbines and vessels are in place to commence construction on time.

Siemens Energy Sector companies are expected to supply wind turbines and offshore substations.

In the spring of this year, the consortium began undertaking environmental surveys for the entire wind farm as well as more detailed surveys for the first set of turbines that will be erected in 2014. The surveys include bird and mammal observations, geophysics, marine ecology and deployment of metocean measuring devices to record wind and waves.

The UK needs a better supply chain to help reduce the cost of offshore wind electricity, which has doubled since 2005. Click here to read more.