| Gunfleet Sands 1 & 3 | |
|---|---|
 The farm from a passing ship, 30 September 2010 | |
| Country | England,United Kingdom |
| Location | Northern Thames Estuary 7 km (4.3 mi) offClacton-on-Sea,Essex |
| Coordinates | 51°44′22″N1°10′28″E / 51.73944°N 1.17444°E /51.73944; 1.17444 |
| Status | Operational |
| Construction began | 2008 |
| Commission date | 2010 |
| Owners | Orsted (51%) Marubeni Corporation /Bank of Japan (remainder) |
| Wind farm | |
| Type | Offshore |
| Rotor diameter |
|
| Power generation | |
| Units operational | 48 |
| Make and model | Siemens Wind Power SWT-3.6-107 |
| Units planned | 1 × 3.6 MW |
| Nameplate capacity | 172MW |
| Capacity factor | ~30-35% |
| External links | |
| Website | www |
| Commons | Related media on Commons |
 | |
Gunfleet Sands Offshore Wind Farm is a 172 MW wind farm about 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) off theClacton-on-Sea coast in the NorthernThames Estuary.
The 108 MWGunfleet Sands 1 wind farm gained planning consent in 2003/4; in 2006 DONG Energy (nowØrsted) acquired the project and submitted an application for a second 64 MW windfarmGunfleet Sands 2 adjacent to the first, which received consent in 2008. Construction of both mountingSiemens Wind Power SWT-3.6-107 turbines took place between 2008 and 2010.
In 2010 planning began on a demonstration projectGunfleet Sands 3, used to test Siemens' 6 MW wind turbine model; two such turbines were installed in 2013.
Gunfleet Sands 1 & 2 are 7 km southeast ofClacton-on-Sea,Essex; in water at depths of 2 to 15 m (6 ft 7 in to 49 ft 3 in) (given spring-to-neap tidal range of about 4.6 m); Gunfleet 1 consists of 30 turbines in a 5×6 array, whilst Gunfleet 2 consists of a 9×2 array adjacent, to the southeast; the installed capacities are 108 and 64 MW respectively. The average wind speed is 8.8 m/s (29 ft/s) at 60 m elevation.[1]
The turbines connect to a 33 kV offshore substation, which steps up the transmission voltage to 132 kV; the export cable makes landfall at Holland Haven (next toHolland-on-Sea), and underground cables connect it to theNational Grid at the Cooks Green substation.[2][3]
Such development nearClacton-on-Sea began in 1996 under Windmaster Developments;[4] Windmaster was acquired byEnron in 2000, and passed toGeneral Electric (GE Wind Energy) in 2002.[5] ARound 1 concession for the development was awarded in 2001, and planning consents obtained in 2003/4.[1][6][7]
In June 2006 a consent application and environmental statement was submitted to theDepartment of Trade and Industry for permission to build and operate an extension (Gunfleet Sands 2) to the consented project: up to 22 further turbines with an additional capacity of 64 MW.[8] In December 2006DONG Energy acquired the 100-megawatt "Gunfleet 1" project from GE.[9]
A contract for 30Siemens Wind Power 3.6 MW turbines was signed in April 2007.[10]
The application for Gunfleet Sands 2 rested with decision maker theDepartment for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform in June 2007,[11] who gave its permission the next year.[1]
Construction began in 2008, with initial work including onshore infrastructure and cable installation.[11] A formalgroundbreaking ceremony was held in April 2008.[12] The first turbine was installed in April 2009.[13]
MT Højgaard was contracted to instal the monopile foundations; work started in October 2008;[14]Sif supplied the monopiles and transition pieces,[15] andSmulders supplied the wind turbine foundations,[16]
The cabling was supplied byPrysmian,[17][18]Bladt Industries constructed the offshore monopile substation superstructure,[18][19] with electrical equipment supplied byAreva T&D andABB Group.[18]
Construction of the wind farm was delayed, due to cable layer Oceanteam going into administration in May 2009 and the breakdown ofliftboatKS Titan 2.[20]
Electrical generation began in August 2009.[21] The wind farm was fully operational by March 2010 and was formally opened on 15 June 2010 by Anders Eldrup (DONG Energy) and the UK's Energy MinisterCharles Hendry. Cost of the development was 4 billion Danish Kroner.[22] Large-scale development of British wind farms was enabled by their kickstart subsidies: set in 2010 at a long term rate of 1.20 Danish Kroner perkWh, compared to about 0.50 Kroner (Horns Rev 2) in Denmark.[23]
An operations and servicing center was built inBrightlingsea, Essex where a former boatyard stood.[24][25][26]
The wind farm produced between 450 and 520 GWh between 2010 and 2012, with acapacity factor of 31–35% (2011/12).[27] Itslevelised cost has been put at £122 per MWh.[28]
The transmission assets were divested in July 2011 toTC Gunfleet Sands OFTO Limited due to regulatory change.[29]
In September 2011Marubeni Corporation acquired a 49.9% shareholding of the farm for £200 million.[30] In 2013 Marubeni divested part of its stake to theDevelopment Bank of Japan.[31]
During theSt Jude storm of October 2013, wind speeds of 65 metres per second (150 mph) were measured at the wind farm.[32]
| Gunfleet Sands 3 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Official name | Gunfleet Sands demonstration project |
| Country |
|
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 51°42′11″N1°11′28″E / 51.703°N 1.191°E /51.703; 1.191 |
| Status | Operational |
| Commission date |
|
| Owners | |
| Wind farm | |
| Type | |
| Rotor diameter |
|
| Power generation | |
| Units operational | 2 |
| Make and model | Siemens Wind Power SWT-6.0-120 |
| Units planned | 1 × 3.6 MW |
| Nameplate capacity |
|
| External links | |
| Website | www |
| Commons | Related media on Commons |
 | |
A planning application for theGunfleet Sands 3 - Demonstration Project (GFS 3) was submitted in 2010. The project consisted of a wind farm about 1 km2 (0.39 sq mi) 8.5 km southeast of Clacton. It was for testing new wind farm equipment ready for theRound 3 wind farm letting process. Two wind turbine installations were proposed.[33]
The development required a separate export cable and grid connection to the prior farm; a planning application for the onshore electrical facilities and cabling was submitted in November 2011.[34]
Inter-array and export cables (at 33 kV) were supplied by JDR Cables.[35]
The monopile foundations and transition pieces were supplied byBladt Industries and installed byBallast Nedam in 2012.[36][37] Two Siemens 6MW turbines were installed in January 2013 byA2SEA.[38]
The site began generating power in April 2013.[39] A blade replacement took place in mid 2013 after one of the tips was damaged.[40] The facility was officially opened on 12 September 2013 by UK Energy MinisterGreg Barker.[41][42]
"Gunfleet Sands Offshore Wind Farm 7km off Clacton On Sea Essex".www.youtube.com. BBC.Archived from the original on 20 December 2021.
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