Our renewables success story

The UK’s first offshore wind farm, built one kilometre off the Northumberland coast in 2000 and decommissioned in 2019. When in operation, the two 2MW turbines generated enough power to supply over 2,000 homes and saved 4,520 tonnes of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere each year.

Blyth provided a pioneering contribution to renewable technology and lay the foundation for a further 600 offshore wind turbines installed by E.ON in the seas of northern Europe. Since the sites construction, the area has become a valuable testing ground for offshore construction, operations and maintenance and is today a hub for offshore innovation and development.

This 18MW site near March in Cambridgeshire went into operation in 2007 and has the capacity to supply around 10,000 households with electricity, saving over 2,300 tonnes of carbon emissions each year each year.

A joint venture between E.ON and Energy Power Resources Ltd, located near Halifax in West Yorkshire, Ovenden Moor was repowered in 2017 when the original wind farm which had supplied power for over 22 years was decommissioned.

With the development in technology since the site was first built, the original 23 turbines were replaced with nine new turbines capable of producing twice as much power.

In spring 2015 this 73 turbine, 219MW project located 8km off the Holderness coast began generating electricity two months ahead of schedule.

Construction of the site helped bring significant investment to the area as E.ON invested £4m in transforming a neglected derelict site at Grimsby Fish Docks into the wind farm’s Operation and Maintenance base and in improving the surrounding quayside for its vessels.

Today the site provides enough power for around 170,000 homes, equivalent to around one and a half times the size of Hull.

Located in County Durham, Holmside, Harehill and High Volts were all commissioned in spring 2004. At the time of their constructions, these wind farms boasted the most powerful wind turbines in the UK, which were transported from Hartlepool docks in sections on vehicles up to 50m long.

A locally based company, AMEC Wind Services, developed the site and also helped manage the project during construction. 

Completed in 2010, Robin Rigg was the first commercial wind farm to be constructed in Scottish waters.

The 174MW £325m project is located in the Solway Firth a sandbank off the south west coast of Scotland between Galloway and Cumbria.

Located in Caithness in the Scottish Highlands, Camster became operational in 2014. The 25 turbine, 50MW site has the capacity to supply over 40,000 homes and save around 55,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. 

Opened in 2018, the Rampion wind farm sits 13km off the Sussex coast and generates enough energy to power about 350,000 homes. 

After a three-year construction period, its 116 turbines, cover an area larger than Guernsey. 140km of cables are buried under the seabed to connect the turbines and to carry the power back to shore. 

Commissioned in 2004, Scroby Sands was the first UK commercial offshore wind farm to be given consent.

Consisting of 30 turbines, the £75m project located 3km off the coast of Great Yarmouth generates enough electricity to power over 40,000 homes. 

Along the esplanade a visitor centre attracts around 30,000 visitors each year who come to enjoy the interactive activities and displays and learn about renewable energy.