ScottishPower and Ørsted’s UK Offshore Wind Farm Celebrates Decade of Operation

December 2, 2024, by Adnan Memija

The West of Duddon Sands offshore wind farm, owned by ScottishPower and Ørsted, has passed ten years in operation since its commissioning in 2014.

Built and operated as a 50/50 partnership, the 389 MW West of Duddon Sands offshore wind farm was commissioned in 2014, with its 108 Siemens 3.6 MW turbines installed in the Irish Sea, around 14 kilometres off the Cumbrian coastline.

Over the last ten years, the project has produced enough renewable energy to power the equivalent of around 340,000 homes each year, which is the same as the size of the city of Leeds, according to ScottishPower Renewables.

“The 10^th birthday of West of Duddon Sands presents the opportunity to reflect on how far we have come as an industry and how early projects have laid the pathway for the new generation of offshore windfarms. Offshore wind has become one of the cheapest forms of energy generation, in part thanks to advances in technology and scale, but also thanks to the skills, knowledge and expertise of the people who work on the projects,” said Emma Ford, Head of West Coast Generation at Ørsted.

The wind farm marked an investment of more than GBP 1 billion and supported more than 1,000 jobs at peak construction, with around 40 long-term skilled jobs created at its operations and maintenance (O&M) base in Barrow-in-Furness.

West of Duddon Sands also supported multi-million investment, jobs, and growth at Belfast Harbour, the first purpose-built offshore wind installation and pre-assembly harbour in the UK and Ireland, ScottishPower Renewables said.

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Iberdrola’s first-ever offshore wind farm marked a significant milestone, contributing to the development of an operational portfolio of over 1 GW and a pipeline exceeding 10 GW in the UK’s offshore wind market, the developer added.

“It’s no coincidence that only two years after we opened our first offshore windfarm, ScottishPower closed its coal-fired power stations and became the first major UK energy company to only generate 100% green energy,” said Charlie Jordan, ScottishPower Renewables CEO.

“We’ve also helped drive the ambition and innovation that is the hallmark of the offshore wind industry today, where the turbines we’re installing have more than four times the capacity of West of Duddon Sands and we’re taking our projects into deeper waters than ever before.“

For Ørsted, West of Duddon Sands forms part of the company’s UK fleet of twelve offshore wind farms, collectively capable of powering more than six million homes.

“Windfarms like West of Duddon Sands continue to make a significant contribution to the nation’s supply of renewable energy and have played an important role in the shift away from fossil fuels to clean energy,” added Emma Ford.