East Anglia Array
The East Anglia Array is a series of proposed and constructed offshore wind farms located around 30 miles off the east coast of East Anglia, in the North Sea, England. It has begun with the currently operational East Anglia ONE, that has been developed in partnership by ScottishPower Renewables and Bilbao Offshore Holding Limited. Up to six individual projects could be set up in the area with a maximum capacity of up to 7.2 GW. The first project, East Anglia ONE at 714 MW, received planning consent in June 2014 and contracts in April 2016. Offshore construction began in 2018 and the project was commissioned in July 2020. It is expected to cost £2.5 billion.
| East Anglia Array | |
|---|---|
 East Anglia ONE wind farm during construction | |
 | |
| Country | England, United Kingdom |
| Location | North Sea |
| Coordinates | 52°54′28″N 2°37′43″E / 52.90778°N 2.62861°E |
| Status | Operational |
| Construction began | June 2018[1] |
| Commission date | July 2020[2] |
| Construction cost | £ 2.5 billion |
| Owners |
|
| Wind farm | |
| Type | Offshore |
| Max. water depth | 53 m (174 ft) [3] |
| Distance from shore | 45.4 km (28.2 mi) (minimum) |
| Hub height | 120 m |
| Rotor diameter | 170 m |
| Site area | 300 km2 (116 mi2) |
| Power generation | |
| Units operational | 102 |
| Units planned | 300 |
| Nameplate capacity | 714 MW (2100 MW planned) |
| External links | |
| Website | scottishpowerrenewables.com |
The East Anglia Array is a series of proposed and constructed offshore wind farms located around 30 miles off the east coast of East Anglia, in the North Sea, England. It has begun with the currently operational East Anglia ONE, that has been developed in partnership by ScottishPower Renewables and Bilbao Offshore Holding Limited.[4] Up to six individual projects could be set up in the area with a maximum capacity of up to 7.2 GW. The first project, East Anglia ONE at 714 MW, received planning consent in June 2014 and contracts in April 2016. Offshore construction began in 2018 and the project was commissioned in July 2020.[1][2] It is expected to cost £2.5 billion.[5]
Planning
[edit]The East Anglia Zone is in the North Sea off the east coast of East Anglia. It is one of nine offshore zones belonging to the Crown Estate which formed part of the third licence round for UK offshore wind farms. At the closest point the zone is 14 km from shore.[6] East Anglia Offshore Wind (EAOW) is a partnership between ScottishPower Renewables and Vattenfall. In December 2009, EAOW was announced as the developer for the East Anglia Zone.[7]
The target capacity for the entire East Anglia Zone is 7200 MW which could require up to 1200 turbines.[6] Up to six individual projects could be set up in the area.[8] The first project is the East Anglia ONE windfarm,[6] which was commissioned in July 2020. EAOW has planning permission granted for East Anglia THREE, and has announced plans for further projects named East Anglia TWO and East Anglia ONE North.[6] If consents are received, all three new arrays will be built as a hub, combining to provide a rated capacity of 3.1GW of electricity from 263 wind turbines.[9] Funding has been agreed to improve local activities, courtesy of the Sizewell C and East Anglia Array projects.[10] Local opposition groups approve of the offshore wind turbines, but request a different location for the onshore facilities.[11]
East Anglia ONE
[edit]East Anglia ONE is located in the southern area of the East Anglia Zone, and is approximately 43 km (27 miles) from the shore.[12] The initial proposal was for an installed capacity of 1200 MW.[12] Cabling for East Anglia ONE lands near the River Deben at Bawdsey, runs north of Ipswich and is connected to the National Grid at Bramford.[13]
A plan was formally submitted to the government in December 2012,[14] and planning consent was granted in June 2014.[15] In October 2014 ScottishPower announced that it intended to scale down East Anglia ONE because of insufficient subsidies.[16] In February 2015 it was announced that ScottishPower would proceed with a scaled-down 714 MW project.[17]
A contract for difference with a strike price of £119/MWh was awarded on 27 April 2016, using 102 Siemens Wind Power direct-drive 7 MW turbines. Nacelles were built in Cuxhaven, while blades were made in Hull.[18][19] Due to water depths between 30–40 m, the turbines use jacketed foundations. Cabling is at 66 kV as opposed to the traditional 33 kV. Two export cables at 220 kV alternating current send the power to shore.[20] A support vessel is powered by used vegetable oil.[21]
Construction
[edit]
Onshore construction began in 2017,[22] with offshore construction starting in 2018. The first foundation was completed in June 2018 and the first turbine was completed in June 2019. The windfarm's offshore substation was installed in August 2018.[23]
First power was generated in September 2019,[24] turbine installation was completed in April 2020,[25] and commercial operation began in July 2020.[2]
East Anglia TWO
[edit]The East Anglia TWO wind farm will be located be 37.5 kilometres (23.3 mi) off-shore from Lowestoft and would have a generating capacity of 960MW from 64 Siemens Gamesa SG14-236 DD[26] turbines. The project was granted a Development Consent Order in March 2022 and is planned to be ready by 2030.[27] In October 2024, £4bn was committed to the project.[28]
In 2024 ScottishPower obtained a Contract for Difference for the contract with a strike price of GBP 58.87/MWh.[29]
East Anglia THREE
[edit]The under construction East Anglia THREE wind farm is located in the northern half of the East Anglia Zone,[30] and is approximately 69 km (42 miles) from the shore.[8] Once completed it will have an installed capacity of 1372MW from 95 Siemens Gamesa 14+MW Wind turbines.[31] The project was consented in 2017 and is planned to be operational in 2026.
Grid connection cabling for East Anglia THREE follows the same path (and ducting was laid at the same time) as for East Anglia One. It lands near the River Deben at Bawdsey, runs north of Ipswich and is connected to the National Grid at Bramford.
In 2022 the UK Government awarded East Anglia THREE a Contract for Difference (CfD) at a strike price of GBP 37.35/MWh each.[32]
Construction
[edit]Onshore construction commenced in July 2022.[33] The first monopile and transition piece were placed on 18 April 2025.[34][35] The 10,700 tonne high voltage direct current transformer was installed in October 2025. It was lifted into place using the SSCV Sleipnir, the world's largest crane vessel.[36]
East Anglia ONE North
[edit]The proposed East Anglia ONE North wind farm will be located approximately 37.7 kilometres (23.4 mi) from Lowestoft, and would have a generating capacity of up to 800MW. The project was granted a Development Consent Order in March 2022 and is planned to be ready by 2030.[37]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Joshua S Hill. "714 Megawatt East Anglia ONE Offshore Wind Farm Completes Construction Of First Jacket Foundations". cleantechnica.com. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- ^ a b c Adrijana Buljan (3 July 2020). "East Anglia One Now Officially Fully Operational". offshoreWIND.biz. Retrieved 26 July 2020.
- ^ Examining Authority's findings and conclusions and recommendation in respect of the proposed East Anglia One Offshore Wind Farm and connection works (PDF) (Planning recommendation EN010025). The Planning Inspectorate. 18 March 2014.
- ^ "EAST ANGLIA ONE". scottishpowerrenewables.com. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
- ^ "Europe's largest contract for offshore wind turbines". ScottishPower Renewables. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
- ^ a b c d "FAQs". East Anglia Offshore Wind. Archived from the original on 18 February 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
- ^ "About Us". East Anglia Offshore Wind. Archived from the original on 18 February 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
- ^ a b "East Anglia Three wind farm plans go on display". BBC News. 16 June 2014. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
- ^ "The East Anglia Hub". Scottish Power Renewables. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
- ^ "Energy Projects Update" (PDF). East Suffolk District.
- ^ Sanderson, Cosmo (9 January 2024). "Hollywood A-lister Ralph Fiennes' new star role in film battling green power 'steel and concrete'". Recharge | Latest renewable energy news.
- ^ a b "FAQs". East Anglia ONE. Archived from the original on 18 February 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
- ^ "East Anglia ONE offshore wind farm". 4C offshore. Retrieved 16 August 2017.
- ^ "East Anglia One wind farm plan for Suffolk coast submitted". BBC News. 17 June 2014. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
- ^ "East Anglia One wind farm approved off Suffolk coast". BBC News. 17 June 2014. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
- ^ "Scottish Power scales back big East Anglia wind farm". Financial Times. 30 October 2014. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
- ^ "East Anglia One offshore wind farm plan reduced in size". BBC News. 26 February 2015. Retrieved 5 March 2015.
- ^ "East Anglia ONE's Price of £119/MWh Confirmed". Offshore Wind. 27 April 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
- ^ admin (27 April 2016). "Siemens Awarded 714 MW Contract For East Anglia ONE Offshore Wind Farm". Archived from the original on 16 May 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
- ^ "East Anglia ONE". 4C. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
- ^ "Vegetable oil powers SPR at East Anglia 1". reNEWS - Renewable Energy News. 25 June 2021. Archived from the original on 28 June 2021.
- ^ "Onshore cabling work to start as East Anglia One windfarm project takes further step forward". 28 September 2017. Archived from the original on 11 August 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
- ^ "East Anglia ONE Offshore Substation Installed". ScottishPower Renewables. Retrieved 21 October 2019."East Anglia ONE Offshore Substation Installed". ScottishPower Renewables. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
- ^ "East Anglia ONE Generates First Power". www.offshorewind.biz. 12 September 2019. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
- ^ "TURBINE INSTALLATION COMPLETE ON EAST ANGLIA ONE OFFSHORE WINDFARM". www.scottishpowerrenewables.com. 29 April 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
- ^ "ScottishPower seals £1BN offshore wind turbine deal with Siemens Gamesa".
- ^ "East Anglia TWO". www.scottishpowerrenewables.com. 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
- ^ "Tidalwave of clean energy investment worth billions unlocked ahead of Investment Summit". GOV.UK. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
- ^ "Contracts for Difference (CfD) Allocation Round 6: results (accessible webpage)". GOV.UK. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
- ^ "Welcome". East Anglia THREE. Archived from the original on 18 February 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
- ^ Buljan, Adrijana (26 December 2024). "Pre-Construction Work Underway at East Anglia Three Offshore Wind Farm Site". Offshore Wind. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
- ^ Buljan, Adrijana (7 July 2022). "UK Secures 7 GW of New Offshore Wind, Awards CfD to World's Single Biggest OWF". Offshore Wind. Retrieved 24 April 2025.
- ^ "East Anglia THREE". www.scottishpowerrenewables.com. 2022. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
- ^ "First monopile installed at ScottishPower's biggest-ever offshore windfarm". ScottishPower. 25 April 2025. Retrieved 11 June 2025.
- ^ "Weekly notice of operations" (PDF).
- ^ Bosworth, Alan (29 October 2025). "Aker Solutions delivers largest-ever HVDC topside for UK wind farm". Baird Maritime / Work Boat World.
- ^ "East Anglia ONE NORTH". www.scottishpowerrenewables.com. 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
External links
[edit]
- "East Anglia Offshore Windfarm Zone", www.eastangliawind.com (official website), archived from the original on 10 February 2015, retrieved 18 February 2015
- National Infrastructure Planning
- East Anglia ONE Offshore Windfarm
- East Anglia THREE Offshore Wind Farm
- East Anglia FOUR Offshore wind Farm, archived from the original on 12 March 2016, retrieved 17 February 2016
| Companies |  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Power stations |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||