Abu Dhabi firm says UK assets have capacity to supply clean energy to nearly 1 million homes
Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, better known as Masdar, has inaugurated its third wind farm in the United Kingdom, bringing the combined power generating capacity to 1 gigawatt (GW), enough clean energy to supply nearly one million homes.
Together with its partners Statoil and Statkraft of Norway, Masdar staged the official “switch on” of the 402-megawatt (MW) Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm, located 32 kilometres off the Norfolk coast in England.
Masdar is a 35 percent shareholder in Dudgeon alongside Statoil (35 percent) and Statkraft (30 percent).
Comprising 67 wind turbines, Dudgeon is now supplying around 410,000 UK homes. Dudgeon joins Hywind Scotland, the world’s first floating wind farm, which Masdar also developed with Statoil, and the London Array, still the world’s largest offshore wind farm currently in operation at 630MW.
“Today’s inauguration of Dudgeon highlights Masdar’s emergence as a global renewable energy leader and the value of international partnerships in successfully deploying large-scale renewable energy projects,” said Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, UAE Minister of State and chairman of Masdar.
“Together with London Array and Hywind Scotland, it also positions the UAE at the forefront of the United Kingdom’s drive to meet its domestic power demand through clean energy sources. The increasing cost efficiency of offshore wind technology is unlocking substantial commercial opportunities for the wider energy sector, as illustrated by the success of Dudgeon.”
Mohamed Al Ramahi, CEO of Masdar, added: “Today marks the completion of a three-year journey to deliver our third wind power project in the United Kingdom, but only the latest step in our collaboration with Statoil and Statkraft.
“We’re proud to have played a significant role in the delivery of Dudgeon, both on the operations side and in terms of financing. The teamwork among our three companies has been exceptional, a key factor in the successful delivery of this flagship wind energy project.”
Since announcing its acquisition of a 35 percent stake in Dudgeon in September 2014, Masdar has grown its wind energy portfolio to include the Middle East’s first utility-scale wind farm (Tafila in Jordan), the largest wind project in the West Balkans (Cibuk 1), and Hywind Scotland, the world’s first commercial-scale floating wind park, unveiled last month.
Since 2006, Masdar said it has invested in renewable energy projects with a combined value of $8.5 billion.
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