UK offshore wind farm generates first power

The 857MW Triton Knoll offshore wind farm in the UK has generated its first power, German utility RWE said.

The first of 90 turbines at the site was installed in January, and the site has now exported its first power after the project's transmission system was successfully commissioned, RWE said.

The project is "well on track to complete turbine commissioning in 2021, with final completion of Triton Knoll in early 2022," RWE's head of global offshore wind Sven Utermohlen said.

RWE has a 59pc stake in the project and is leading development. Japanese utility J-Power has a 25pc stake and another Japanese utility, Kansai Electric Power, has the remaining 16pc. The total planned investment is around £2bn, RWE said.

Triton Knoll is the first of five UK offshore wind projects that are under construction and targeting completion in 2022 or early 2023, and will together take installed capacity over 15GW, up from 10.4GW currently.

Another 5GW of projects have been awarded a contract for difference (CfD) beginning in 2023-24 or 2024-25.

The fourth CfD auction round, of a maximum of 12GW to renewable projects, is due to take place later this year, although with onshore wind and solar photovoltaic also participating, offshore is unlikely to dominate to the same extent as in the previous two rounds.

By Killian Staines