As technology improves, the size of wind turbines increases. This image does not show the type of turbine used at Triton Knoll.
Rini Kools | iStock | Getty Images
Major wind farms off the east coast of the UK with large turbines have achieved their first power, in the latest example of the region’s growing technology.
Triton Knoll 857 megawatt (MW) Offshore Wind Farm will be able to power more than 800,000 homes in the UK once fully operational, according to a report on the project website.
The development uses 9.5 MW turbines from the Danish company Vestas which have a tip height of around 187 meters.
On their website, Triton Knoll has described the Vestas turbines as “among the most powerful operating anywhere in the world … capable of powering a typical home in the UK for more than 29 hours with just one turn of the blades. ”
RWE, Kansai Electric Power and J-Power are co-owners of Triton Knoll, with RWE responsible for managing construction, operation and maintenance.
The North Sea, home to Triton Knoll, is now home to several offshore wind facilities.
These include the 1.2 gigawatt (GW) Hornsea One development, located in waters off Yorkshire, England, and using 190-meter-high wind turbines.
Looking ahead, major planned projects for the North Sea include the Dogger Bank Wind Farm, which will have a total capacity of 3.6 GW, and the 3.1 GW East Anglia Hub.
No. 1 in the UK, but China is not far behind
News of the development of Triton Knoll is helping to consolidate the UK’s position as a global leader in the offshore wind sector.
It is currently the No. 1 market for offshore wind turbines, with more than 10.2 GW of capacity, according to recent figures from the World Wind Energy Council. China lags behind it, however, with just under 10 GW of plants.
The world shipped more than 6 gigawatts (GW) of new offshore wind capacity in 2020, with China relying on more than half of those plants, according to the GWEC.
As technology has improved, the size of wind turbines has increased. The GE Renewable Energy Haliade-X turbine, for example, is 260 meters high and can be adjusted to 12, 13 or 14 MW.
Elsewhere, Vestas has announced plans for a 15 MW offshore wind turbine, with the company hoping to install a prototype next year before ramping up production in 2024, while Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy operates a 14 MW turbine which can be upgraded to 15 MW if required. Both Vestas and Siemens Gamesa say the height of the turbines will be site-specific.