The 75-metre long blades are being made at Siemens Gamesa’s Hull factory demonstrating ScottishPower Renewables’ commitment to UK content.

Production of the first wind turbine blade for the East Anglia ONE offshore windfarm represents a significant milestone for the project located 43km off the Suffolk coast.

The fibre glass blade has been manufactured by the 850-strong team at Siemens Gamesa’s state-of-the-art factory at Green Port Hull, and is the first of 306 which will be manufactured at the site utilising the specialist workforce.

Inspection of the blade, and sign-off by the East Anglia ONE project team, was completed on 7th February. With the blades comparable in length to the wingspan of an Airbus A380, this feat of engineering forms part of the major contract between leading wind energy producer ScottishPower Renewables and Siemens Gamesa to manufacture and install the turbines for the East Anglia ONE Offshore Windfarm.

The £2.5 billion East Anglia ONE project will see 102 Siemens Gamesa turbines deployed, each with a capacity of 7 megawatts; which could in total provide enough clean energy to power the equivalent of more than 630,000 homes annually*.

Charlie Jordan, East Anglia ONE Project Director for ScottishPower Renewables, said: 
“The manufacture of the first blade from Hull is a fantastic milestone in the development of our windfarm, signalling the start of turbine installation.

“East Anglia ONE will soon be producing clean, renewable energy for the UK, helping to meet the nation’s carbon reduction targets.

“The fabrication of the blades from Siemens Gamesa’s facility in Hull further demonstrates our commitment to spending over 50 percent of the project investment in the UK, ensuring the benefits of East Anglia ONE are felt across the country.”

Following production at the £160 million Green Port factory, the blades will be shipped down the coast to Great Yarmouth, where the turbine components will be pre-assembled following a £5 million co-investment to prepare Peel Ports Great Yarmouth for construction and installation activities.

Andrew Elmes, Project Manager for Siemens Gamesa, commented:
“We are proud to work alongside ScottishPower Renewables in delivering clean energy for the future. The East Anglia ONE offshore windfarm is a world-leading project to be a part of, providing a significant boost to the UK economy and it’s extra special to be able to support it from our amazing factory in Hull.”

This announcement follows ScottishPower Renewables’ £25 million investment in the Port of Lowestoft with the construction of a start-of-the-art operations and maintenance building. The base, at Associated British Ports’ Hamilton Dock, Lowestoft, will see 100 full-time employees manage the day-to-day operations and maintenance activities for East Anglia ONE.

East Anglia ONE is the first of four offshore windfarms ScottishPower Renewables is developing in the region. 

About East Anglia ONE:
East Anglia ONE will see 102 wind turbines installed in the southern North Sea, approximately 30 miles off the coast. The overall investment will be in the region of £2.5 billion, and the project is planned to meet the annual electricity demands of the equivalent of almost 630,000 homes*.

East Anglia ONE Offshore Windfarm project is likely to include:

• Offshore wind turbines and foundations (102 wind turbines to provide an installed capacity of 714 megawatts).
• An offshore substation to collect the electricity from the turbines and transform it to a form suitable for transfer to shore.
• Two offshore export cables, each around 85 km in length, to transfer the electricity to shore.
• A landfall site with onshore transition pits to connect the offshore and onshore cables.
• Six onshore underground cables, each of around 37 km in length, to transfer the electricity from landfall to an onshore converter station.
• An onshore substation adjacent to the existing substation at Bramford, Suffolk, to connect the offshore windfarm to the National Grid.

*Based on the following calculation: 714 MW (installed capacity) x 0.3836 “offshore wind” average load factor (Digest of UK Energy Statistics) x 8,766 hours (hours per year)/3,781MWh (average domestic annual consumption) = 634,997 homes powered equivalent

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