UK - The Ormonde offshore wind project now completed with installation of last wind turbine

Ormonde is now fully constructed in the Irish Sea, 10km off Barrow-In-Furness, the wind farm comprises of 30 REpower 5M wind turbines.

Vattenfall expects Ormonde Offshore Wind Farm to generate more than 500 gigawatt hours of green electricity every year, which is the equivalent to the total annual electricity needs of more than 100,000 UK households. The turbines cover an area of 8.7km2.

Offshore Works:
Offshore construction work commenced in May 2010 and is now completed with turbines are being commissioned as weather conditions allow.

Onshore Works:
Onshore construction has taken place at both Barrow and Heysham. At Heysham, the Ormonde Offshore Wind Farm is connected to the National Grid. The grid connection requires cables to be buried underground from Halfmoon Bay to the substation commenced in November 2009 and continued throughout 2010.

The Wind Farm Operations and Maintenance (O&M) facility is located on the dock-side in Barrow Harbour. The construction of the new O&M building and quayside facilities are completed and in use.

Benefits to the local area:
The Ormonde Offshore Wind Farm project has helped to secure many jobs across the UK, among the UK suppliers are Fife–based Burntisland Fabrications for its innovative steel platform and BiFab steel jackets, Harland & Wolff for the logistic and assembly services for the Ormonde Offshore Wind Farm as well as local contractors, for example the Neil Martin Group, Askam Construction, Agrilek and R G Parkins of Lancaster.

During the construction phase the project team continued to look at opportunities to use local facilities and personnel. As the project moves into the operational phase a number of long-term jobs have been created at the control, operations and maintenance base which is within Barrow port.
Environmental Monitoring

An environmental monitoring program is undertaken prior to, during and following the construction works of Ormonde Offshore Wind Farm. Vattenfall works hard to keep environmental disturbance to a minimum, ensuring that as little disturbance as possible is experienced by sensitive species such as lizards, slow worms and bird life. There is also a programme to mitigate disturbance for marine mammals.

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