Ship with Legs Will Be World鈥檚 Biggest Wind Farm
A planned offshore wind farm whose developers are billing it as the largest in the world has produced electricity for the first time, according to . 听
What鈥檚 going on: 鈥淟ocated in the North Sea, over 130 kilometers off England鈥檚 northeast coast, the Dogger Bank Wind Farm still has some way to go before it鈥檚 fully operational, but the installation and powering up of its first turbine is a major feat in itself. That鈥檚 because GE Vernova鈥檚 Haliade-X turbines stand 260 meters tall鈥攖hat鈥檚 higher than San Francisco鈥檚 Golden Gate Bridge鈥攁nd have blades measuring 107 meters.鈥
- Once the installation is complete, the ship will have 277 Haliade-X turbines.
Why it鈥檚 a game-changer: 鈥淒escribed by Dogger Bank as the 鈥榣argest offshore jack-up installation vessel ever built,鈥 in many ways, it鈥檚 the pinnacle of an extensive supply chain involving numerous businesses and stakeholders.鈥
- Thanks to four legs that allow the vessel to lift itself above the water鈥檚 surface, the wind farm will be able to operate in depths of up to 80 meters鈥攕ome 30 meters deeper than fixed-foundation wind farms.
Power producer: Once fully up and running, project developers say the Dogger Bank Wind Farm will have a capacity of 3.6 gigawatts, enough 鈥渢o power as many as 6 million homes per year.鈥
- For the sake of comparison, the U.K.鈥檚 fully operational Hornsea 2鈥攃onsidered a major wind farm鈥攈as a capacity of just over 1.3 GW, according to another piece.
A complex project: The totality of the undertaking is 鈥渉uge,鈥 according to one source, and being made more complex 鈥渂y the use of next-generation turbines and a next-generation installation vessel.鈥
- Given the immense size of the Haliade-X turbines, 鈥渨e use a number of specially designed pieces of equipment to transport鈥 them, a GE Offshore Wind spokesperson said.
The 17吃瓜在线’s view: 听鈥淥ffshore wind can be an important part of an all-of-the-above energy strategy that helps meet energy security and decarbonization goals,鈥 said 17吃瓜在线 Vice President of Domestic Policy Brandon Farris. 鈥淢anufacturers keep leading the way with investments in the next generation of energy technologies鈥攁nd the 17吃瓜在线 will continue to advocate energy policies that provide manufacturers affordable, reliable energy.鈥 听鈥嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧嬧