The official approval of Hornsea Project Two comes as an offshoot of its little sister, Hornsea Project One, which has begun onshore construction as of early 2016. Project Two is estimated to overtake the title as the world’s largest offshore wind farm and will be situated 88 kilometres East of Yorkshire’s coast.
Hornsea Project Two is calculated to produce 1 800 megawatts of low carbon dioxide electricity. Its predecessor, Project One generates a capacity of 1 200 megawatts. Both ventures will be giant sources of clean, renewable energy for UK households.
Project Two will consist of 300 aligned wind turbines. The grid of construction will cover an area of 480 square kilometres of the North Sea. The Hornsea Projects are administrated by Denmark’s renowned energy supply company, DONG Energy and will provide power to approximately 1.8 million UK homes. Additionally, DONG Energy’s investment in the UK will bring around 2,500 jobs to Britain’s shores.
England’s business and energy secretary, Greg Clark, is confident that Hornsea Project Two (in addition to Project One) will further advance the UK’s already growing renewable energy industry:
“The UK’s offshore wind industry has grown at an extraordinary rate over the last few years and is a fundamental part of our plans to build a clean, affordable, secure energy system,” he says, “Britain is a global leader in offshore wind and we are determined to be one of the leading destinations for investment in renewable energy, which means jobs and economic growth right across the country.”
The approval of Project Two was not easy. Early development was impeded by nature conservation bodies and their concern for the habitat of porpoises (a threatened marine mammal of Britain’s Northern Sea).
A natural habitat regulations assessment was conducted and the wind farm project ultimately received the green light. This may explain why Hornsea Project Two will begin construction much later than Project One, which is already underway.
Apart from the twin Hornsea projects, Britain has high ambitions for its clean energy industry. Plans are in place for the UK to produce 10 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by the end of the current decade and to double it by 2030. It is certain that DONG Energy’s Hornsea projects will help the country along in pursuit of that goal.
