Iberdrola SA has begun offshore construction of the East Anglia 3 wind farm in the UK’s North Sea, marking a milestone with the installation of a giant monopile. Located 69 km from Suffolk, the 1,400 MW project will power over 1.3 million homes. Approved in August 2017, onshore work started in July 2022.
The project, valued at GBP 4 billion ($5.32 billion), is the largest renewable project for ScottishPower, Iberdrola’s UK unit.The monopile installed for the East Anglia 3 wind farm, measuring 83.89 meters tall, 10.6 meters in diameter, and weighing 1,800 tonnes, sets a new offshore wind industry record as the largest ever installed from a jack-up vessel in Europe.
ScottishPower Renewables CEO Charlie Jordan highlighted the scale of the achievement, with the monopile safely placed in an area nearly the size of 43,000 football pitches.
The monopile was made by Navantia Seanergies and Windar Renovables and installed by Seaway7’s Seaway Ventus vessel.Seaway7 has been contracted to install 95 monopiles for the East Anglia 3 wind farm, each measuring 67-85 meters in length and weighing 1,200-1,800 metric tons, with completion expected by 2026.
They will also install transition pieces, made by Windar. Siemens Gamesa will supply 95 turbines, each with a 14.7 MW capacity. The first transition piece has already been installed, weighing over 400 metric tons. Once operational, East Anglia 3 will be Iberdrola’s largest wind farm and the second-largest globally, according to CEO Charlie Jordan.
Iberdrola has signed agreements with NR Marine Services and OEG Offshore UK for 3 additional vessels—2 crew transport vessels from NR Marine Services and 1 support vessel from OEG for surveillance. East Anglia 3 is part of the East Anglia Hub, which includes the 960 MW East Anglia 2, set to begin construction in 2027, and the 714 MW East Anglia 1, which went online in September 2019.
