E.ON Energy UK Starts Working on the First Offshore wind Farm in Southern England
British company E.ON Energy UK and the government-owned U.K. Green Investment Bank will begin this week the construction of a £1.3bn offshore wind farm in Birling Gap on the south coast region of the UK.
The seabed will be prepared for the installation of 116 wind turbines that are capable of generating 400MW. This project is expected to finish in early 2018.The electricity cables from the wind farm will come ashore at the Brooklands Pleasure Park in Worthing and will transport power along 27km of underground onshore cable to a new substation in Twineham, near Burgess Hill, where it will be connected to the grid.
E.ON development manager of E.ON, Chris Tomlinson said "After five years in development, following successful consultation, consent and contracting, we're delighted to be able to confirm that work will commence this week to prepare the seabed for turbine installation."
Onshore work for this project has already begun with ground being prepared to lay cable to the south of Upper Brighton Road, Worthing. It is predicted the farm will reduce C02 emissions by up to 600,000 tonnes a year.
Source: www.theargus.co.uk