ScottishPower inks £25m deal with Lowestoft Port for 1.2GW East Anglia Three project

UK’s ScottishPower Renewables has announced that it entered into an agreement with the Port of Lowestoft to use it as a construction and operations base for the East Anglia One offshore wind farm for the next thirty years.

The entire project will see an investment of around £25m and expects to produce upto 1.2GW of power.

The work at the port is scheduled to begin next year and a new operations and maintenance control building will be established between 2018 and 2020.

ScottishPower had discussions about its plan for East Anglia Three project with Associated British Ports, which owns Lowestoft port.

At first, East Anglia Three was started as a joint venture project between ScottishPower Renewables and Vattenfall, but last August the partnership broke apart and both the companies agreed to work on individual projects in East Anglia zone.

The East Anglia Three project will have around 172 wind turbines, which expects to offer 1,200MW of power.

It will also have around six offshore electrical platforms as well as around four seabed export cables of about 664km in length to transport electricity to the shore.

ScottishPower Renewables offshore wind managing director Jonathan Cole said: "A new vision document published this week highlighted the huge potential of offshore wind power to contribute sustainable, cost-effective electricity for the UK, as well as helping the economy to grow.

"In Lowestoft, we will manage construction activities and operate and maintain our East Anglia ONE project for at least the next three decades. This will support highly skilled, long-term jobs, both directly and across our supply chain.

"Our East Anglia THREE planning submission also highlights our continued commitment to the region, and the tremendous potential in the East of England to develop further large offshore wind projects."

East Anglia One will see around 102 wind turbines installed in the southern North Sea, approx. 26 miles off the coast. The overall investment will be in the region of £2bn, and the project is planned to meet the annual electricity demands of around 500,000 homes.

The construction work of East Anglia One offshore windfarm is expected to begin in 2017 and end by 2020.

The project includes 102 wind turbines, which aims to produce 714MW of energy.