MHI Vestas to supply wind turbines for first phase of Walney offshore extension project in UK

Wind turbines from MHI Vestas Offshore Wind will be installed at the Walney extension offshore wind farm in the UK in its initial phase.

Dong Energy, the developer for the project, has split it into two phases with each phase generating 330MW of wind energy.

MHI Vestas will deliver its V164-8.0MW turbine models for phase 1 of the project.

The project is an extension of 367.2MW Walney offshore wind farm in the Irish Sea and will be developed beside it.

With a total generation capacity of 660MW, the project will be equipped with inter array cables, offshore and onshore export cables within an export cable corridor and offshore and onshore substations connecting it to the National Grid in the country.

Construction for the offshore facility, located almost 19km away from the UK east coast, is expected to start from 2016.

Dong Energy Wind Power executive vice president Samuel Leupold said: "The performance of the V164-8.0MW wind turbine has been a decisive factor in our decision to choose it for phase 1 of the Walney Extension development project.

"A competitive market for all components is essential to the industry in order to lower the cost of offshore wind power. I appreciate MHI Vestas Offshore Wind’s efforts in establishing production close to the site and manufacturing the blades for the Walney Extension project in its UK factory on the Isle of Wight."

Final investment decisions for the development are yet to be made.

UK approvals for the extension project were obtained by the developer in November 2014.