RWE Innogy hits £2bn wind farm milestone

More than half of the 160 turbines at Gwynt y Môr, RWE Innogy's offshore wind farm in North Wales, have been commissioned and are generating electricity.

Construction of what is set to become the world's second largest wind farm will be completed later this year with final commissioning expected over the winter months.

According to operator RWE Innogy, when fully operational Gwynt y Môr will be capable of generating enough energy to power the equivalent of approximately 400,000 homes. The £2bn farm comprises 160 Siemens 3.6 megawatt turbines, two offshore substations, 161 inter-array cables, four export cables, an 11km onshore underground cable route and a new 132kV/400kV onshore substation.

Toby Edmonds, project director at RWE Innogy, said: "Commissioning half of the wind farm is another important milestone for the project. Gwynt y Môr is already the largest producer of renewable energy in Wales, with generating capacity regularly exceeding the combined output of RWE's existing Liverpool Bay wind farms, Rhyl Flats and North Hoyle."

The construction of Gwynt y Môr is expected to sustain over 100 jobs long term for the area, at a 23,000 sq ft operations and maintenance base which is being built by Pochin Construction at the Port of Mostyn in North Wales.

RWE Innogy will make an annual community fund of £768,000 available once Gwynt y Môr is fully operational. A tender process is underway to identify an appropriate administrator and the first full payment is expected in 2015. The fund is in addition to a £690,000 tourism fund from RWe Innogy, which has supported five projects in North Wales throughout the construction of Gwynt y Môr.