Scroby Sands Wind Farm

Scroby Sands Wind Farm
Scroby Sands Wind Turbines
Location of Scroby Sands Wind Farm
Country	United Kingdom, England
Location	Norfolk, Great Yarmouth
Coordinates	52°38′56″N 1°47′25″E / 52.64889°N 1.79028°E / 52.64889; 1.79028Coordinates: 52°38′56″N 1°47′25″E / 52.64889°N 1.79028°E / 52.64889; 1.79028
Status	Operational
Construction began	2003
Commission date	2004
Construction cost	€87 million
Owner(s)	E.ON UK
Wind farm
Type	Offshore
Max. water depth	5–10 m (16–33 ft)
Distance from shore	2.5 km (1.6 mi)
Hub height	68 m (223 ft)
Rotor diameter	80 m (260 ft)
Rated wind speed	16 m/s (58 km/h)
Power generation
Units operational	30 x 2 MW
Make and model	Vestas V80-2MW
Nameplate capacity	60 MW
Capacity factor	32.42% (2012)

The Scroby Sands Wind Farm is a wind farm located on the Scroby Sands sandbank in the North Sea, 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) off the coast of Great Yarmouth in eastern England, United Kingdom. It was commissioned in March 2004 by Powergen Renewables Offshore, a division of E.ON UK. It has a nameplate capacity of 60 megawatts and is able to produce power to supply 41,000 households. Between 2005 and 2010, its capacity factor was between 26 and 32%.^[1]

The farm consists of 30 wind turbines, located in water from 13 to 20 metres (43 to 66 ft) deep. Each turbine has three 40-metre (130 ft) blades that rotate around a centre-point some 60 metres (200 ft) above the mean sea level. The hollow 4.5-metre (14.8 ft) diameter steel masts that carry the turbines are piled as much as 30 metres (98 ft) into the sea bed, to provide stability on a substrate of shifting sands.

The wind turbines were designed and manufactured by a Danish firm, Vestas. Each turbine has a capacity of 2 megawatts.^[2] Turbines were installed by the Danish offshore wind farms services provider A2SEA.^[3]

Tourism

The wind farm has an information centre serving around 35,000 visitors per year, and has become a local attraction.^[4][5]

Gallery

• 
  Wind farm at Great Yarmouth
• 
  Wind farm at Great Yarmouth
• 
  View of the wind farm from Hemsby
• 
  A Jackup rig servicing one of the wind turbines

See also

• Wind power in the United Kingdom
• Sheringham Shoal Offshore Wind Farm
• List of offshore wind farms
• List of offshore wind farms in the United Kingdom
• List of offshore wind farms in the North Sea

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Scroby Sands Wind Farm.

• Capital Grant Scheme for Offshore Wind Annual Report – January 2005 – December 2005 from the Department of Trade and Industry. The main finding being that - apparently owing to a series of bearing failures, and four generator failures - production in the year was less to 30% of the farm's nameplate capacity (albeit this represents production of 90% of the farm's forecast annual output.
• Performance report into wind farm from the BBC, based on the above report.
• E.ON UK - Scroby Sands E.ON's page about Scroby Sands.

Electricity generation in the East of England
Companies	Eastern Electricity Pre-nationalisation electric power companies Renewable Energy Systems
Power stations	Biomass Active Elean Wissington Future Peterborough Tilbury Docks Coal Closed Cliff Quay Goldington Great Yarmouth Little Barford Norwich Peterborough Rye House Tilbury B Watford West Thurrock Proposed Tilbury (clean coal) Gas Active Coryton Great Yarmouth King's Lynn Little Barford Peterborough Rye House Closed Letchworth Future King's Lynn B Incinerators/Waste Active Thetford Future Peterborough Nuclear Active Sizewell B Closed Bradwell Sizewell A Proposed Sizewell C Oil Closed Tilbury A Wind Active Blood Hill Greater Gabbard Gunfleet Sands Scroby Sands Sheringham Shoal Proposed Dudgeon East Anglia Array