RWE Innogy completes wind farm foundations
The installation of 160 foundations for what will become the world's second largest wind farm, the £2bn Gwynt y Môr in North Wales, has been successfully completed.
Construction of the offshore wind farm near Llandudno in Conwy is due to complete later this year. Currently 140 of the 160 full turbines have been installed.
Once active, according to operator RWE Innogy the site will be capable of generating enough energy to power 400,000 homes.
The final transition piece was installed more than eight miles off the North Wales coast by RWE's installation vessel, Friedrich Ernestine. Following completion the vessel will now sail to Germany to install turbines at Gwynt y Môr's sister project, Nordsee Ost.
Toby Edmonds, RWE Innogy UK's Gwynt y Môr project director, said: "This is a tremendous milestone for the project. With this achievement behind us we can focus on installing the final 20 turbines, commissioning the entire array and bringing on line a highly capable renewable energy source, powered from the UK's own freely available natural resources."
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.