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Basque company Iberdrola Renovables, through its British subsidiary ScottishPower Renewables, and the Danish company Dong, has begun development of the West of Duddon Sands offshore wind power project in the United Kingdom.

West of Duddon Sands will have a total installed capacity of 389 megawatts, enough to meet the electricity needs of 300,000 British homes. It will be one of the biggest offshore facilities in the world when it begins operations within three years.

The start-up of this renewable energy infrastructure will require total investment of 1.6 billion pounds, which will be funded on a 50/50 basis by Iberdrola Renovables and Dong Energy. The facility is located 14 kilometres south-east of the cost of Barrow-in-Furness in England.

The two companies have already completed the full design of the project, including the selection of wind turbines to be installed and the decision on power connections. These will require an underwater cable and transforming station to carry the energy to the national power grid.

The construction of the wind farm will involve the use of two ships specially designed for this type of infrastructure, as they enable work to be carried out in extreme weather conditions.

Assembly will largely be in the port of Belfast, while the operations will be carried out from the port of Barrow. The construction of the offshore facility will create an estimated 500 jobs, in addition to others needed in the future for operation and maintenance.

Work is expected to begin next year on the electrical connections, while the wind turbines will be installed in 2013. The facility is planned to be operational in 2014.

The United Kingdom, a centre for offshore operations
West of Duddon Sands, Iberdrola Renovables'' first offshore wind power project, marks the start of one of the most important technological missions in the company''s history. The goal is to take the lead in the future development of this technology, which is considered a second renewable-energy revolution.

The company has set up an Offshore Business Department based in Scotland to achieve this aim. The department will oversee the gradual implementation of the offshore wind facilities in its project portfolio, which already amounts to more than 10,000 MW around the world.

Among them in English waters is the East Anglia Array, to be developed jointly with the Swedish company Vattenfall. It is one of the biggest offshore wind farms in the world, with an installed capacity of 7,200 MW. Last year this project received approval from the National Grid, the operator of the British electric power network, to connect to the mainland power grid. This has been the most important authorisation for connection received by the Iberdrola Group in its history.

Other developments in Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom amount to an additional 2,500 MW between them. They include Wikinger, the wind farm located in German waters in the Baltic Sea, with a capacity of 400 MW, and Argyll Array, in the United Kingdom, whose offshore facility has a potential capacity of between 500 MW and 1,800 MW.