Wales' biggest offshore wind farm officially opens

The 90 megawatt (MW) farm now has all 25 turbines connected up so they can feed into the National Grid. The first turbine was switched on and began producing energy in June.

RWE Innogy, the UK renewable arm of power company RWE npower, expects to have the wind farm generating the equivalent energy of 61,000 homes and saving several thousands of tonnes of carbon emissions by the end of the month.

The company said it was particularly pleased with the time it has taken to complete the wind farm - just 14 months.

"The fact that the wind farm has been finished so quickly is testament to the flexibility of the team, contractors and the vessels," said a spokesperson.

The 25 Siemens wind turbines, each with a capacity of 3.6 MW, are mounted in an area of nearly four square miles. The foundation piles were sunk at a depth of around 50 feet.

Fritz Vahrenholt, ceo RWE Innogy, said: “It took just 14 months from the installation of the first monopile foundation to the trial operation of Rhyl Flats. This is a major achievement involving hundreds of people from within and outside the company. I am confident that with such an experienced and motivated team we will achieve RWE’s ambitious renewable energy growth targets.”

Peter Hain, Secretary of State for Wales, who officially opened Rhyl Flats on Wednesday, added: “RWE npower renewables is the biggest developer and operator of renewable projects in Wales, setting an excellent example in the way it uses natural resources. In doing so, RWE makes an important contribution to climate protection and creates numerous jobs in the energy production industry.”

RWE Innogy also runs the offshore wind farm North Hoyle (60 MW) off the Welsh coast and, further south, is planning to build the Gwynt y Môr Wind Farm, which will have several hundred megawatts of installed capacity. RWE Innogy also has a 50 per cent share in the 500 MW Greater Gabbard Wind Farm situated off the Suffolk Coast, which is planned to open in 2011.