Iberdrola’s Offshore Wind Farms Produce 1.1 TWh in Q1 2020

The offshore wind farms developed and owned by Spain-based Iberdrola have produced 1,119 gigawatt-hours (GWh) during the first quarter of 2020. Iberdrola’s total installed offshore wind capacity stood at 1,174 MW on 31 March.

In the United Kingdom, the company’s offshore wind farms generated 680 GWh, up 203.4% compared to the same period last year, largely as a result of the production generated by East Anglia ONE.

These figures from the Q1 2020 results account for 89 wind turbines installed at East Anglia ONE. On 29 April, the developer informed the 102nd and final wind turbine was installed.

Some 438 GWh were produced outside the UK, with offshore production up by 4.8% thanks to the Wikinger offshore wind farm in Germany, according to Iberdrola.

The Wikinger offshore wind farm also significantly contributed to Iberdrola’s Energía Internacional (IEI) unit, formerly Rest of the World, which posted € 125.6 million, up by 3.8% in comparison to the same period last year.

Iberdrola is developing several new offshore wind farms in Europe and the United States, with projects now being in various development stages.

In the UK, the company is developing its East Anglia Hub, a 3.1 GW project comprising three of its planned offshore wind farms. Iberdrola has already received bids from wind turbine suppliers and started activities to purchase electrical components for the project. The entire project should be up and running in 2026.

Iberdrola’s 496 MW Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm in France is nearing construction phase. The Tier 1 suppliers have been designated and the detail engineering work is in progress, the company stated in its Q1 2020 report. Iberdrola is the 100% owner of the project as of March 2020.

In Germany, the 476 MW Baltic Eagle and 10 MW Wikinger Süd projects remain in progress. In 2019, Iberdrola closed a preliminary agreement with grid operator 50Hertz for Baltic Eagle and Wikinger Süd to ensure connection to the grid by 2024.

The developer will also build offshore wind farms in the United States.

The 800 MW Vineyard Wind ONE project is scheduled to receive a Record of Decision (ROD) from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) in December 2020, after a previous delay in the process. A detailed analysis is now under way to review and align project plans and activities with the new timeline, according to Iberdrola.

The initial development phase is also in progress for Iberdrola’s Park City Wind, an 804 MW offshore wind project to be constructed in Vineyard Wind’s lease area. The main federal and state authorisation documents to be submitted in 2020, Iberdrola reports.

Initial geophysical and benthic surveys have been completed for the Kitty Hawk wind projects, covering the entire 122,405-acre lease area and associated underwater cable route off the coast of North Carolina and Virginia, the developer said. The Kitty Hawk lease are holds a potential for 1,486 MW of installed offshore wind capacity