‘Ground-breaking’ Offshore Wind Project Inaugurated in Scotland

Scotland’s first Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Magnus Hall at the inauguration of the European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC) off Aberdeen, Scotland, Britain Sep 7, 2018.

The European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC) was inaugurated today in north-east Scotland, consisting of eleven of the most powerful offshore wind turbines in the world. 

The project has been led by Swedish energy firm Vattenfall. The company’s CEO, Magnus Hall, says the pioneering wind farm will “turbocharge” the growth of low-cost sector.

The 93.2MW facility is located in Aberdeen Bay and consists of 11 turbines, including two 8.8MW turbines – the most powerful to be deployed anywhere in the world. The other nine are just slightly less powerful at 8.4MW.

Each turbine has a tip height of 191m and a rotor circumference of 164m, making them larger than the London Eye.

The EOWDC’s total generating capacity of 93.2MW will supply the equivalent of 70% of Aberdeen’s household electricity demand, in turn removing more than 130,000 tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere

The 8.8MW and 8.4MW turbines started generating clean energy from all 11-turbines in late July, just six months offshore construction started back in February.

Time-Lapse: World’s Most Powerful Offshore Wind Turbine Installed Off Scotland

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon marked the official opening of the EOWDC during an inauguration ceremony held on today.

“I am proud that as part of this ground-breaking project, the world’s most powerful offshore wind turbines are now up and running in Scotland,” First Minister Nicola Sturgeon commented.

“A single rotation of one of these 8.8MW turbines will generate enough energy to power a home for 24 hours which truly shows the potential of this technology to strengthen Scotland’s renewable energy generating capacity in the future,” FM Sturgeon added.

President and chief executive officer at Vattenfall, Magnus Hall, said: “The innovation we have implemented at the EOWDC – and will continue to demonstrate – will turbocharge the growth of a global, low cost offshore wind industry. And in doing so, do much to secure a fossil fuel free future for us all.”

Development of the EOWDC was supported by a 40 million euro grant from the European Union.

Vattenfall currently operates 3GW of installed wind capacity in the UK, Denmark, Germany and Sweden.

Hall added: “Vattenfall is in Britain to grow. The success of our wind power investments over the past decade, and the ambition of Scottish and UK governments to transform the energy and transport sectors, gives us confidence in our UK future. As we forge new partnerships in heat, e-mobility, retail, power distribution and wind over the next ten-years we will be at the forefront of the UK’s decarbonisation of energy.”

The European Offshore Wind Deployment Centre (EOWDC) just happens to sit in waters off Trump International Golf Links Aberdeen, Scotland. The now-President famously opposed the project and unsuccessfully battled in court to prevent it’s development.

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