Rhyl Flats Offshore Wind Farm to start generating power

The wind farm, off the coast of Wales, is expected to be full operational by the end of 2009 when all 25 wind turbines will be working. It will generate enough power for around 61,000 homes.

Construction work is still being carried out on some of the turbine installations as well on the subsea cables between the facility, situated five miles from the mainland in Liverpool Bay, and the shore. Once on land, the power will be carried through underground cabling to a substation in Towyn, where the voltage of the electricity will be converted for transmission over the national electricity grid.

RWE npower renewables, which already runs the North Hoyle Offshore Wind Farm in Liverpool Bay and 22 other wind farms in the UK, described the start of power generation at Rhyl Flats as a milestone. Kevin McCullough, chief operating officer of parent company RWE Innogy, said: “We are delighted to reach this milestone, which marks the start of a life time of environmental benefits that Rhyl Flats Offshore Wind Farm will deliver through pollution-free energy generation.  In addition, the wind farm is bringing benefits to the regional economy through investment in jobs and local services.  Local community projects will also benefit from an annual community fund for the life of the wind farm, which will become available when the project is fully operational.”

The Government’s Energy Minister, Lord Hunt added: “We’re the world number one for offshore wind generation and with Rhyl Flats plugged in we’re adding to the amount of electricity we’re generating. Offshore wind power will be a big contributor to meeting our target of 15 per cent of renewable energy by 2020, securing a domestic and low carbon source of electricity and helping the UK’s transition towards a greener cleaner economy.”