Dong Energy has completed the installation of all 32 wind turbines at the 256 MW Burbo Bank offshore wind farm in the UK.
The Danish firm has held an official opening ceremony for the wind farm, which is the first in the world to make commercial use of MHI Vestas’ V164-8.0 MW turbines.
The wind farm is a joint venture between Dong, PKA and Kirkbi, the parent company of the Lego Group.
Lego said that completion of the wind farm had enabled it to reach its goal of meeting all of its energy needs through renewables.
Henrik Poulsen, Dong Energy Chief Executive Officer, said: “Burbo Bank extension showcases the rapid innovation in the offshore wind industry. Less than ten years ago at Burbo Bank, we were the first to install Siemens 3.6 MW wind turbines and in this short time, the wind turbines have more than doubled in capacity.
“Pushing innovation in this way reduces the cost of electricity from offshore wind and will help to advance the offshore wind industry across the world.”
Poulsen also said that the project, located 7 km from the UK coast at Liverpool, had helped the UK to develop its offshore wind energy supply chain. “It’s the first offshore wind farm to use UK manufactured blades,” Poulsen said.
DONG Energy is currently operating 17 offshore wind farms across the UK, Germany and Denmark and recently became the world’s first developer to reach the installation of 1000 offshore wind turbines.
Lego Group said it would continue to invest in renewable energy. “We want to make a positive impact on the planet that children will inherit, and we’ve set an ambitious goal of balancing our energy use with production of renewable energy by 2020,” Bali Padda, CEO of the LEGO Group said. “With the inauguration of the Burbo Bank extension wind farm, we’ve now reached this goal three years ahead of our target.”
Lego has invested at total of DKK6 billion in offshore wind farms, including DKK3.3 billion in Burbo Bank extension.