Major offshore wind power deal struck for East Anglia ONE

The biggest ever deal for a consented project in the UK's wind energy sector has been agreed for what will be one of the world's largest wind farms when it's built off the Suffolk coast.


ScottishPower Renewables has selected Siemens as its preferred turbine supplier for the East Anglia ONE offshore windfarm, which is expected to deliver enough clean power for around 500,000 local homes.

The turbine agreement, which will be the largest individual contract placed as part of the £2bn project, will see up to 102 of Siemens’ 7MW turbines supplied.

Cost reduction

Commenting on today’s announcement, Energy Secretary Amber Rudd said: “This massive financial investment is great news for East Anglia and for Hull, which will now become a real clean energy manufacturing hub.”

“In addition to supporting thousands of UK jobs, this project shows we are driving down the costs of offshore wind; another demonstration of how the Government is developing the full potential of the offshore wind sector at the lowest cost to bill payers.”

East Anglia ONE aims to create around 3,000 jobs in total, with up to half of these jobs supporting the turbine contract. Siemens will use their new facility in Hull for manufacturing the wind turbine blades for this project, with more than half of the project components and services made and sourced in the UK.

ScottishPower Renewables chief executive Keith Anderson said: “East Anglia ONE will be the most cost effective offshore windfarm ever delivered. Selecting the turbine supplier will be the single largest agreement for East Anglia ONE, and the most significant in terms of achieving important cost reduction goals.”

Siemens Wind Power and Renewables Division offshore chief executive Michael Hannibal added: “We will manufacture the wind turbine blades for East Anglia One at our new factory in Hull and work with ScottishPower to further promote the growth of the UK offshore industry.”

Contract for Difference

The project will be delivered via the Contract for Difference (CfD) mechanism after ScottishPower Renewables successfully bid for a contract with the cost of electricity set at £119/MWh. This has been made possible by ScottishPower’s use of advanced technology, such as larger and more efficient turbines, and compares with £140-£150/MWh at other offshore wind projects awarded CfD contracts during 2014.

East Anglia ONE aims to create around 3,000 jobs in total, with up to half of these jobs supporting the turbine contract.

ScottishPower Renewables aims to start construction in 2017, with the first turbines installed by 2019 and the project fully operational during 2020. This project is ScottishPower and Iberdrola’s third offshore windfarm and, when completed, will be able to power around 500,000 homes.

Luke Nicholls

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