The world’s largest wind farm was inaugurated earlier today by Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and Lars Lykke Rasmussen, Danish Prime Minister.
The wind farm, known as Horns Rev 2 is located in the North Sea 30km off the coast of western Jutland. It’s not only the largest wind farm to date, but is also built furthest offshore compared to any other wind farm in the world. The water depth in the area is 9 -17 metres and the average wind speed is just below 10 m/s.
The 91 2.3MW wind turbines have a total generation capacity of 209 megawatts, enough to supply power equivalent to the annual electricity consumption of 200,000 households. The wind turbines have a blade diameter of 93 metres and a total height of 114.5 metres above sea level. An additional 30 – 40 metres are below sea level. Each turbine is part of a computer network, making it possible to communicate with each wind turbine. The installation covers an area of 35 square kilometres
Another first for offshore wind farms was the inclusion of an accommodation platform at Horns Rev 2 . This reduces travel time for employees who will be operating and maintaining the wind farm during service periods. Given the size of the wind farm, the accommodation platform is expected to be manned all year round. The three-level high module can accommodate 24 persons at a time.
600 people were involved in the Dong Energy project and over 25 different vessels were hired for the construction period.
