E.ON launches £2m Community Benefit Fund as the Humber Gateway Wind Farm generates electricity for the first time

E.ON establishes community benefit funds to help the communities in which it operates and works closely with local councils to discuss possible projects to support through its funding.  E.ON has now identified four key areas that will benefit from the Humber Gateway Community Fund which include improving rural transport in South Holderness; supporting the development of a new apprenticeship programme in North East Lincolnshire; funding for a new visitor centre for the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust; and a community support fund which local groups, voluntary organisations and registered charities can apply for. 

The launch of the Community Benefit Fund coincides with a major milestone reached in the Humber Gateway Offshore Wind Farm project. Last week, the wind farm generated electricity for the first time and is on schedule to be fully operational by mid-summer, when it will produce enough renewable energy to power up to 170,000 homes.

Matthew Swanwick, Project Manager for the Humber Gateway Offshore Wind Farm, said: "All of the 73 foundations are now in place and we've installed 58 of the 85 metre turbines. The cable installations have also been completed which will transport the energy generated from each of the 3MW turbines, to the local grid connection in Salt End. 

"It takes an enormous amount of work to erect these large structures and we've had to battle a few spells of bad weather, so we're really happy with our progress to date. The turbine installation programme will continue over the next few months, marking the last construction phase of the project."

The construction phase for Humber Gateway alone has helped bring significant investment to the area and created a number of local jobs. For example, the energy company invested £4 million in transforming a neglected site at Grimsby Fish Docks into the wind farm's Operations and Maintenance base, which was officially opened by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, Eric Pickles MP, in 2014. E.ON also improved the surrounding quayside and used around 102 local sub-contractors to complete the work.

The Humber Gateway Offshore Wind Farm is one of several major renewable energy sites in E.ON's portfolio, which includes London Array, the world's largest offshore wind farm, and Blackburn Meadows Biomass Plant, which is due to officially open in Sheffield in the coming months. Humber Gateway further highlights E.ON's continued commitment and ongoing investment in low-carbon generation, as well as Britain's energy infrastructure as a whole.

The Humber Gateway Wind Farm is located 8km off the Holderness coast, East Riding of Yorkshire, and will have an installed capacity of up to 219MW.