Business Weekly - Cambridge, UK

Greater Gabbard Offshore Winds Ltd (GGOWL), a joint venture between Ireland based Airtricity and Texas headquartered Fluor, has received planning permission for the construction of the wind farm in the Outer Thames Estuary.

The planned wind farm will produce 500MW of electricity via 140 wind turbines sited around the Inner Gabbard and The Galloper sandbanks.

It will provide green electricity for more than 415,000 homes equivalent to the domestic demand of Suffolk.

In addition, GGOWL recently received permission to connect the wind farm to the electricity grid via a substation at Sizewell from Suffolk Coastal District Council.

The east coast of England is a key area for offshore wind projects with approximately 6.5 GW of capacity currently planned out of a total of 10 GW for the whole of the UK.

The Greater Gabbard project will reduce CO2 emission by almost 1.5 million tonnes p.a. which is the equivalent of removing 350,000 cars from the road every year.

Receipt of planning consent allows the joint venture to progress the project design and to structure the project financing arrangements as well as the power purchase agreements that are required to allow the project to achieve financial close –scheduled for the second half of 2007.

GGOWL is now focusing on pre-construction activities: Fluor has been appointed as engineering, procurement and construction contractor. The procurement process for turbines and other equipment has commenced, with offshore construction planned to commence in 2009.

Eddie O’Connor, Airtricity CEO said: “This is a great boon for the United Kingdom. Wind on such scale will bring strong economic and environmental benefits for the UK. When the wind blows free generation replaces generation that costs. Wind reduces risk because the cost of the power offered will be fixed in price and offers price benefits for the consumer. “Such large scale offshore wind provides consistent power and will push down the prices for fossil fuels. This price decrease is caused by the diminishment in demand for fossil fuels, something we’ve seen frequently in Northern Europe. Greater Gabbard will save money as well as contributing to the amount of electricity generated from emissions free sources.”

UK’s Special Representative for International Trade and Investment, the Duke of York visited Ireland to highlight the strong economic links between the UK and Ireland. Part of the visit included a private meeting with both Airtricity and Fluor, as well as the unveiling of a plaque in Airtricity’s Dublin offices to commemorate the event.