The British energy company Scottish Power, announced Wednesday a contract of 1.3 billion pounds (1.5 billion euros) with the Spanish-German group Siemens Gamesa. The project involves supplying 95 wind turbines for an offshore wind farm in the North Sea.
The turbines of the “East Anglia three” park, which will be installed about 70 kilometers from the coast in southeast England, “will have a combined capacity of 1,400 megawatts. This is enough production “to meet the annual demand of 1.3 million homes,” Scottish Power said in a statement.
According to the energy company, this is the largest contract it has ever awarded. It will allow the construction of the second largest wind farm in the world. In addition, it will generate more than 2,300 jobs during construction. British Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt assured a parliamentary committee on Wednesday that the UK is a “world leader in offshore wind energy”, adding that “nearly 40% of (the country’s) electricity comes from renewable sources”.
Indeed, Hunt said the government was looking at possible measures to help the UK remain “competitive” with massive green subsidies in the US. However, we will have to wait for the fall budget presentation to know the details.
