First wind turbine successfully installed at Gwynt y Môr Offshore Wind Farm off the coast of Wales

Gwynt y Môr wind farm is a joint venture of RWE Innogy (60 percent), Munich municipal utilities (30 percent) and Siemens (10 percent). Altogether the three companies are investing around two billion euros. After completion, Gwynt y Môr wind farm will generate power for up to 400,000 households in Great Britain.

Gwynt y Môr wind farm is being built over an area of around 80 square kilometres approximately 12 kilometres off the coast of North Wales. The water depth in the construction site is 12 to 28 metres. There are currently five large installation vessels and many additional smaller vessels working on site. In parallel with the installation of the foundations and turbines, the cables between the turbines and to the shore are being laid. The power generated by the wind turbines will initially be routed through the two substations at sea and from there fed via export cable to the feed point on land near Pensarn. From here, the power will travel via eleven kilometres of underground land cables to the substation near St Asaph, where it will be fed into the National Grid. First Power production is scheduled to begin this summer.

RWE is pushing ahead the extension of renewable energy across Europe with a strong focus on onshore and offshore wind. The company currently operates wind farms with an output of around 2,200 megawatts throughout Europe. At present, RWE Innogy is expanding offshore wind energy in Germany, Great Britain and Belgium. Some 680 megawatts are currently under construction. In addition to Gwynt y Môr, this also includes the Nordsee Ost project in the German North Sea off Helgoland which is also planned to go into operation in 2014.