14 DAY TRIAL // The London Array, i.e. the world's largest offshore wind farm, kept pretty busy in the six months up to the end of March 2014. Thus, the facility's operators say that, during this time, the wind farm had a record clean energy output of 1.5TWh of electricity.
For those unaware, the London Array is located in the waters of the Thames Estuary and sits at a distance of about 20 kilometers (about 12 miles) from shore. It comprises as many as 175 Siemens 3.6MW turbines, and its overall energy generating capacity is one of approximately 630MW. Business Green informs that, despite the fact that the massive offshore facility produced its first watts and fed them into the country's grid in October 2012, the London Array officially opened for business back in last year's July.
This means that the massive facility has just recently completed its first full winter of operation. Given the facility's impressive performances in the six months up to March 2014, there is no doubt that winter conditions suit this offshore wind farm just fine.
In fact, it would appear that the facility owes its record green energy output to the high winds and stormy weather the turbines that comprise it were exposed to during said time frame. Then again, the fact that the farm makes use of state-of-the-art technologies is likely to have also had a say in the matter.
“This excellent performance is a testament to the quality of installed components, the well managed construction project, the smooth handover to operations, the support we’ve had from local stakeholders and our service providers who work to keep the turbines turning,” General Manager Mike O'hare said in a statement, as cited by ReNews.
It is estimated that, all in all, the London Array's clean energy output during the six months up to this year's March was more than enough to meet the power demand of as many as 325,000 households in the United Kingdom. It is to be expected that having this many homes rely on wind power also delivered noteworthy benefits in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
As reported earlier this year, owners Dong Energy, E.ON, and Masdar wish to add even more turbines to the London Array, and thus up its energy generating capacity. However, due to the fact that this expansion threatens to affect local wildlife, Dong Energy, E.ON, and Masdar have been forced to put their plans on hold until an environmental assessment is carried out.