LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM (October 28, 2003) -- The Gunfleet Sands Offshore Wind Plant, a 108-megawatt proposal slated for development off the east coast of England, last week became one of four new offshore wind projects to attain government consent. The projects were approved under the Transport and Works Act of 1992 as part of the U.K.'s ongoing program to significantly increase its supply of wind-generated electricity over the next several years.
The Gunfleet Sands project was acquired by GE Wind Energy through its wind company acquisition last year. GE Wind Energy is continuing to process the project's pre-development activities. Once built, the plant is expected to produce enough clean energy to meet the annual electricity requirements of about 85,000 average U.K. households.
"We are pleased to be moving the development of the Gunfleet Sands Offshore Project another step forward," said Celene McIntyre, U.K. country manager for GE Wind Energy. "Our GE team, part of the 15,000 employees General Electric has in the U.K., is looking forward to bringing this world-class project to the area and providing additional clean electricity for the national grid."
Construction of the Gunfleet Sands project is expected to commence during 2005. The new wind plant will be located approximately four miles (seven kilometers) off Clacton-on-Sea in Essex on seabed leased for the project from the Crown Estate, a designation which manages nearly 463 square miles (120,000 hectares) of agricultural land and extensive marine assets throughout the U.K.
In total, 18 offshore wind projects have been proposed around the U.K. coast. To date, 12 have been granted permission to begin construction, totaling more than 1,200 megawatts.
U.K. Energy Minister Stephen Timms said, "We are building the first phase of offshore wind power and these projects will help us toward our target of producing 10 percent of our electricity from renewable sources by 2010. Renewable energy will help us meet our long-term energy needs while also addressing our environmental concerns."
GE's new 3.6-megawatt wind turbine technology is being considered for the Gunfleet Sands project. The world's first full-scale application of that technology is the 25-megawatt Arklow Bank Wind Park in the Irish Sea, which is nearing completion. A prototype 3.6-megawatt machine has been operating on land since 2002 as a test bed in Spain.
GE Wind Energy, a unit of GE Power Systems, is one of the world's leading wind power companies. With design, manufacturing and/or assembly facilities in Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, China and the United States, the company's current product portfolio includes wind turbines with rated outputs from 900 to 3,600 kilowatts, and support services ranging from project development assistance to operation and maintenance. The company's knowledge base includes the development and/or installation of more than 6,100 wind turbines with a rated capacity exceeding 3,900 megawatts. GE Wind Energy employs more than 1,700 people worldwide.
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