Iberdrola : The British Government approves the Iberdrola East Anglia Three offshore wind power megaproject, with a 1,200 MW capacity

Iberdrola has received the approval of the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy of the United Kingdom (BEIS) to build the East Anglia Three offshore wind farm, which will have an installed power of up to 1,200 megawatts (MW).

With the approval, the company can built this renewable energy megaproject in British waters, the most ambitious carried out by a Spanish company in the renewable energy sector until now.

This new offshore wind farm will be part of the project developed by Iberdrola in the same area, known as East Anglia One, with a 714 MW capacity. Therefore, the new East Anglia wind farm will reach a power capacity of 2,000 MW, becoming one of the largest renewable energy installations in the world.

East Anglia Three will be located at a distance of 69 kilometres from the coast of Norfolk, close to the London metropolitan area, and shall supply electricity to approximately one million British homes. Iberdrola is expected to start on the construction work in 2022 and start production in 2025

The installation will cover an area of up to 305 kilometres squared and require the installation of between 100 and 120 wind turbines to generate the total capacity. The company is expected to install state-of-the-art wind turbines for this offshore wind power project. Likewise, the smallest and most efficient wind turbines in the market will be installed, with a height of up to 247 metres, equivalent to two times and a half the size of Big Ben (96 metres).

The commissioning of East Anglia Three will represent the unprecedented start of operations of an electric infrastructure by a Spanish company:

Up to four offshore substations.

An offshore platform shall host the operational centre and offices.

Up to four underwater cables to export energy from the wind farm to the coast.

An onshore substation, located in the county of Suffolk, to connect the wind farm to the grid of National Grid.

Iberdrola's commitment to offshore wind power

Iberdrola has made strong investments in offshore wind power as one of the keys to its future. To achieve this, it has created a department in the company that has organised large-scale projects in the north of Europe.

The company is already executing projects in the UK, Germany and France. The company is collaborating with Spanish vendors, such as Navantia and the new Siemens Gamesa.

Some of the main offshore wind farm projects include:

West of Duddon Sands: Iberdrola was the first Spanish company to design and start up an offshore wind farm, the West of Duddon Sands wind farm (WoDS) in the United Kingdom. The company promoted this project in a consortium with the Danish company Dong. Together, the two companies invested more than 1.6 billion pounds.

WoDS boasts 389 MW in capacity and, as such, is able to generate enough power to meet the energy needs of approximately 300,000 British households. The offshore wind farm is located about 12 miles from Barrow-in-Furness in the North West coast of England. Since it first started operations, it has shown extraordinary performance both in terms of production and availability in hours.

The wind farm extends across approximately 26 square miles (mi2) and each of its turbines has 3.6 MW capacity. Iberdrola's Renewable Energies Operating Centre (CORE) is responsible for operation and maintenance control. It is located in the Whitelee wind farm (Glasgow).

Wikinger: it will require an investment of almost 1.4 billion euros and will have an installed capacity of 350 MW of clean energy, equivalent to the consumption of approximately 350,000 German homes. This represents over 20% of the demand for energy of the State of Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, region where the wind farm is located.

The wind farm is close to the north east coast of the German island of Rügen and it is currently being built. It is expected to be commissioned by the end of the year.

Wikinger is having an important pull effect in the different areas in which the project is being carried out, with approximately 2,000 jobs created for the construction works at the port of Mukran and at the factories where all of the components are being manufactured, both in Germany and Spain.

The AD-5000 - 135 turbines are manufactured as state-of-the-art structures by Siemens Gamesa in the Bremerhaven and Stade manufacturing plants (Germany) and have a 5 MW unit power.

These are the wind turbines with the highest power rating and largest dimensions that the company has installed in its entire history. They are made up of a 222-ton nacelle, a rotor with a 135 metre diameter and blades with a 77.5 metre length, as well as a 75-metre high tower.

Saint Brieuc: the Saint-Brieuc wind farm will have an installed power of 494 MW; it will be located in Saint-Brieuc bay, off the coast of Brittany in France, about 100 km from the city of Rennes.

Saint-Brieuc will be equipped with 62 turbines with a capacity of 8 MW and located 20 kilometres offshore. These state-of-the-art wind turbines will also have a Spanish hallmark, as they have been ordered from Siemens Gamesa. They will be spread over an area of 75 km², with the closest one to land being installed about 16 km from the coast.

This facility, which is being developed by Iberdrola in collaboration with the company RES and Caisse des Dépôts, will be the company's fourth offshore wind farm when it is commissioned. The energy produced at this location is expected to meet the electricity needs of the equivalent of 850,000 inhabitants.